Mass Effect: The First War
by ProfFartBurger
Summary: The Prothean Ruins weren't. They contained little more than mentionings of an Alien Society; as a result, humanity develops on a completely different path than what was intended, and when first contact is made not with the Turians, but a desperate, destitute race viewed as beggars and thieves, how will this dying race change Humanity? And how will Humanity change the Galaxy? *A/U!*
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:_

_Welcome!_

_First of all, a warning: This story is primarily A/U, meaning the events contained within are to be considered: __**Non Canon!**_

_I draw slight inspiration for this story from: Mass Effect: A New Past, by BombSquad. [I say slight because ME:FW isn't based upon A New Past, rather I was inspired by the latter to make the former]_

_In order to set a premise, there will be time-skip points and timeline entries. I will also be making a conscious effort to create a Codex for the Non-Canon entries into the Universe._

_Now, if anyone has any suggestions, critiques, complaints or praises, __**please**__ feel free to say so in a review. (I read __**all**__ reviews, and I'm checkin' 'em twice. [Yes])_

_Next, I'm not a professional writer by any definition. So if you see anything wrong with my story, any plot-holes, or anything of the kind, please let me know in a review, I'm constantly reading them and I'm constantly using them to improve._

* * *

Prologue

* * *

_2124:_

_The United States of America lands a man on Mars. The world celebrates, but NASA is silenced upon the discovery of an artificial construction found several miles from the landing zone. Very little is found inside the construction - a station of some sort, that seemed to be capable of supporting _human_ life at one point in history -, next to no data is found in the terminals, except for mentionings of a race called the 'Protheans'. It is assumed that this race had created the outpost, but abandoned almost immediately after it's construction, for reasons unknown._

_2125:_

_The meeting of the Global Military Powers [The United States of America, The Russian Federation, the Unified South American States, the European Union] is considered successful in the public eyes: Mankind is soon to reach for the stars in colonization efforts. Behind closed doors, the militarization of space is authorized, blueprints for starships and space-weapons are drafted, in preparation for possible extra-terrestrial attack._

2130:

_The 'warp' drive is created, and tested upon an aircraft. Tests are successful, the space-worthy aircraft manages to 'warp' to the moon, and 'warp' back. The warp drive works on a simple concept, Jason McGraw, the scientist in charge of the breakthrough, had this to say: _"Imagine, a piece of string. Now, for sake of argument, say it takes you an hour to travel across this string, from end to end. With the McGraw Warp Drive, we take the two ends of the string, and put them together. Turning the hour long trip and making it take only two minutes."_ The world celebrates, as true space ships are being build. The first true spaceships known to Human kind are military ones, outfitted with advanced weaponry: Rail Guns, high-caliber cannons, and point-defense laser turrets. _

2133:

_The Human Systems Alliance is formed, to be the 'face' of humanity, in any sort of extraterrestrial contact. All ships that had been created by the military powers fall under the Alliance's banner._

2146:

_The first civilian Space Ship is escorted through Warp-Space to the closest Earth-like planet to our star, Sol. The Alliance First Fleet escorts the colonists to Planet Eden, the First-Colonized world by the Human Race. Both worlds celebrate._

2146:

_The Alliance Advancement Task Force is formed, they have a single goal: Make Humanity Stronger._

2150:

_As Eden is mass-colonized, the fruits of the AATF are found: Artificial Intelligences. A failed experiment from Earth's previous century, these Artificial Intelligences are truly thinking machines. One was able to formulate [What the scientists believed to be] a consciousness in a few hours. Three hours after that, it asked it's first question, 'Am I Alive?'. The answer was simple: 'It's impossible to understand… But we consider you so'. And thus, all of the fears the movie-companies had given us about Sentient Intelligences were put to rest, as the AI [It chose the name: Nikola, after Nikola Tesla] began working along-side it's creators to create the next incredible advancement: [INFORMATION REDACTED UNDER ALLIANCE INTELIGENCE ORDER: 13612998]_

2150:

_An object is found in the orbit of a planet at the edge of the Eden System. It is massive, several times larger than an Alliance Flagship. Work is begun to study the object._

2152:

_After a global meeting, it is decided that the 'Tuning Gate' [Named after it's shape and design] shall be activated. Upon activation, one of the frigates passing by it's center of mass is attacked by an immense energy surge, and disappears as if it entered Warp Space. A report is sent back an hour after the ship is declared missing, they were launched towards another habitable Solar System, with another Earth-like planet located past it. Upon the frigate's return, the object was shut off and a meeting is called as to what it could be, and what it means. Due to the fact that it was in such a pristine state, it was decided that We are not alone, and we should expect 'neighbors' imminently._

2158:

_On a hunch, a member of the AATF asks the Alliance to 'open' the Tuning Gate. One ship uses the gate to travel to the system it had recorded earlier, another ship uses conventional Warp Speed to reach the system. Several things are discovered.  
First of all, using the Tuning Gate was thrice as effective, as it did in seconds what took the other ship an entire day to accomplish._  
_Secondly, the Tuning Gate skipped over at least four systems, two of which had Habitable worlds. [The ship that used the gate had discovered at least four systems surrounding the exit-point's system, but none of them were among the ones that the Warp-ship found.]_  
_The AATF begins to study the Tuning Gate, in an attempt to figure out how it works and how to replicate it's speed of travel._

2200:

_The Human Systems Alliance [And all peoples therein] celebrates the new century. Progress into the study of Tuning Gates goes slowly, AI's have been able to learn how to turn them on and off in moments, but that's all. Humanity has yet to colonize another world, as they want not to spread themselves too far, and risk an Extraterrestrial attack on a planet they cannot reach. Eden and Earth stand as the only Human'owned' worlds in the Milky Way. Eden is becoming more like Earth with each passing year, with gigantic, sprawling cities being quickly forged on one continent, and immensely successful farm plots forming on another. The third continent is to be considered an 'Earth' continent, meaning it will have a mixture of cities, towns, and farms. Estimates put the next planetary colonization effort to occur in 2205, on planet 'Valhalla', the second habitable planet not in the path of the Tuning Gate._

2201:

_The AATF, escorted by the four ships from the Alliance First Fleet [One destroyer and three frigates] have jumped through a Tuning Gate, to an untouched one, and are planning on sending in an Artificial Intelligence, to allow 'him' to see everything before Human hands alter it._

* * *

"Eden Alliance Control, this is Captain Connor, of the SSV Reach reporting." Says the captain of the lone Alliance Destroyer of the group of four military ships, and three science ships. The Captain rubbed his balding head, as he came to terms with what he was doing: Protecting a bunch of eggheads for several days while they try and understand things millennia beyond our technological capability. The aging captain appreciated one aspect of the mission, though: It _was_ simple.

_"Go ahead Reach."_

"We're approaching Tuning Gate B, our AI, Rosenda, is about to activate it." Reports the captain, as his miniature fleet of ships soar across the silent, dark void.

_"Understood. Report back the moment you can. Control out."_

"This is it, people." Says the Captain, as he surveys his surroundings.

The circular bridge of Captain Connor's ship, 'Reach', contrasted the triangular design of the ship itself. In front of him was a map of known Human Space, a 'space-chart', as opposed to a sea chart. It was two-dimensions in appearance, but it served it's job well. Around him, forming an 'O' around his chair and the map, were walkways leading to the navigation center, and to the elevator behind him. Next to the walkways were depressions, in which communications were located. The captain smiled, as he saw one woman converse with the ship's Artificial Intelligence, Rosenda. AI's had gone a _long _way during their relatively short life. While initially, many were apprehensive of the AI's ability to coexist with humanity, these fears were dashed when an AI was responsible for detecting the 79-mile wide meteor that would have hit Luna, and then Earth only a few months after it was detected. The entire Alliance Navy worked tirelessly to remove the threat, and eventually, a combination Rail-gun and Mass Driver-assisted Nuclear Strike managed to split the meteor in two, and cause it to harmlessly float past Earth in two chunks. The people in the United States and in some parts of Africa got an amazing shooting-star show that night.

After the 'Great Artificial Rescue', AI's had become much more accepted in human society, and were integrated into many levels, including average society, naval, military, and even education. Funding was diverted towards the AI's in a show of faith towards this new 'Artificial-human race', and immediately after the funding was acquired, the AI's evolved to a point where the only difference between a human brain and the Artificial Intelligence's mind was the fact that the AI worked at a rate much faster than a human, and that the human had a body. Personality updates were among the many things that made AI's more human, and more acceptable in human society.

Captain Connor saw - in a camera image brought forth by Rosenda upon request - the Tuning Gate. It made him feel small, when he looked at it. And he was in his ship, a_ Destroyer; _an Alliance Destroyer was a marvel of modern engineering, it was nearly as maneuverable as a frigate, but was lengthier, had thicker armor, and had more firing power. When the calculations had been done, it was said that it would only take _five_ Alliance Destroyers to take out a Space-Craft Carrier in a single volley. This was amazing, as the Space-Craft Carrier was the next step up in class, and it would take ten frigates worth of firepower to take out a carrier in a single volley. Sadly, when calculations were done against an Alliance Dreadnought [The next step up in military naval vessel, from Space Craft Carrier], five turned to twenty. When pit against a virtual flagship, the AI simply said: Don't.

_"Activating the Tuning Gate."_ Says the AI's synthesized voice; it spoke with a tone and speed of a young woman, it's tone and volume was light, but not comically so.

A moment after the AI's fleet-wide declaration, the celestial machine in front of them activated, and the massive blue orb erupted into a ball of energy, as the massive rings kept said energy contained. The captain and the Artificial Intelligences had little idea how they worked, he remembered something about 'Dark Energy', but he knew even less about that.

As the Reach flew towards the gate, Connor felt a cold feeling run down his spine. When the Reach entered the gate's radius, large swaths of blue electricity arced to the ship. As the ship continued down the gate's length, more energy connected to the ship, until after a few moments, it was catapulted forward at several light-years a second.

_"Arrived at new system. Activating scanner, scanning for exit Tuning Gate, habitable planets, and mining systems."_ Declares the AI, as it carries out it's own orders, _"Friendly ships arriving in three… Two… One."_ And with that declaration, the rest of the fleet arrived behind the Reach, to stop suddenly next to the cold, dead celestial machine next to them.

"Open up communications to the other ships, make sure everything is okay." Orders the captain, as he sits in his chair.

"Other ships responding, everything's green."

"Rosenda, are you ready for the transfer?"

_"Yes Captain. I have scanned the system, there is another Tuning Gate at the opposite end of the system's star. This one shows active power signatures."_

"Alright... Wait, what!? What does that mean?" Demands the Captain.

_"It is activated."_

"Is… anyone else in the system with us?" Asks the Captain, hiding the nervousness in his voice.

_"I detect no Fusion Engines in this system, nor do I detect any other power sources, aside from the Alliance ships and the other Tuning Gate."_

"Alright… Wells, contact the other Navy vessels, inform them of the situation, tell them to be on standby, and be ready for combat at a moment's notice." Orders the Captain.

"Yes sir." Responds one of the communications officers, "What about the scientific vessels?"

"Tell them it's just a precautionary measure. Same one we took when we found Valhalla."

"Understood."

Five minutes later, the Artificial Intelligences from the scientific flotilla were pouring themselves into the Tuning Gate, learning everything and anything the could. Connor tried at one point to read a report, but found his head spinning after the first few sentences.

Several hours passed by, the aging captain could almost _feel_ his dark wrinkled skin settle, and balding hair turn grey. To say he was bored was an understatement, but he wouldn't say so, nor would he show it, as such he maintained his upright posture and stoic expression. He couldn't wait for the rapidly approaching Eden weekend, he'd been granted the week following off, in return for accepting this mission. He couldn't wait to see his wife, the last time they'd talked after was their daughter had gotten married, and that had been several weeks ago. The captain had fond memories of his daughter's wedding, and meeting his new daughter-in-law's parents for the first time had been a treat.

_"Captain!"_ Roars the synthetic voice of Rosenda, suddenly the Captain realized there were several people calling his name, the AI using the phone in his pocket's speaker to jar him from his thoughts.

"What? What's wrong?"

"A dozen contacts just exited the opposite Tuning Gate, and have disappeared into Warp Space. Most likely they've detected us and are moving to contact." Says a communications officer.

_"Update, new contacts, previous approximates wrong, estimated forty -"_ The AI cut itself off for a half second, _"ninety seven - three hundred four - six hundred twelve - eight hundred forty four contacts and counting. All seem to be spreading out from the Tuning Gate from which they have erupted from."_

"Recall the scientific vessels!" Orders the Captain, "Get them behind the Frigates and hail the ships coming in. Are they friendly?" He asks of the AI.

_"Unknown. They do not match any known Alliance signatures."_

"Wait, what?"

_"They are not human, captain."_

"Are you saying this is a first contact scenario?" Asks the captain, quietly.

_"Yes."_

"Hail the ships on all channels, but do not - _I repeat, __**do not**_ - appear hostile. Prepare the FCP." He paused, "My name is Captain Byron Connor of the SSV Reach, of the Human Systems Alliance." He says, the AI records the message, "We come in peace, we do not seek hostilities. I hope your species and ours can coexist."

_"Sending First Contact Message and Package on all available channels."_ The AI broadcasts, _"Estimated number of contacts breeching three thousand, and continuing to rise."_

As the Captain waited for the AI to stop counting and bring up the scanners, he thought of the First Contact Package. In essence, it was a video greeting, recording a 'welcome to Earth' on several key societal locations upon said planet. It would show cheerful images of peace, friendship, love and brotherhood so as to suggest the same to whatever aliens Humanity may meet.

_Good god… __**Aliens**__!_ Thought Connor, as it sunk in what was happening: First Contact. _He_, of all people, was going to be the human that decided the fate of every other one in the Milky Way, through a simple series of videos, statements and pictures. He couldn't believe that it was _he_, that would be the first human to find, meet, and speak to any aliens in the galaxy. He'd honestly wanted his species to have a military presence at least five times larger than it had, so it _would_ be able to fend off any possible alien invasion or incursion, and maybe a planetary presence of at least twenty, with Eden being the most developed of the twenty, so it could be mistaken for the human homeworld, Earth.

_I can only imagine what the crew is thinking… _Thought the captain, before he got too impatient waiting for the AI and brought up the scanners, replacing the two-dimensional map of the star system with a two-dimensional scan of the star system. A sea of yellow dots were spewing forth from the Tuning Gate, Rosenda was reporting that the numbers were going upwards of five thousand, and showed no sign of letting up.

_What have we stepped into?_ The captain asks himself.

* * *

The Admiralty board of the Quarian Migrant Fleet had realized the desperate situation that had occurred in the recent decades. The absolute lack of resources to be found was a detriment to the fleet as a whole, the Quarian people desperately needed a home, but the only ones they could lay any claim to were getting farther and farther away with each passing moment. And any other untouched garden worlds would be bombed by the Turians if they tried to settle, effectively barring them to space, and dooming them to extinction. As it was, the Quarian Fleet was a shell of it's former self, where once it could have had an extensive engagement with the Turian Navy, and maybe even the Geth if they were lucky, now - due to it's dwindling supplies and limited food - the once great and moderately powerful fleet was fleeing known space. The admiralty board had decided that the Quarian people would have a home, even if they had to disappear from the face of the galaxy, and enter uncharted space to do so.

Admiral Sri'Zoran Vas Morrule stood at the helm of his massive live-ship, as it was among the first to enter the border-system between charted and uncharted space. From here, it was a single FTL jump to uncharted waters, unclaimed lands, and lawless space with which to find a home and call their own.

"Admiral Zoran!" Says a Quarian naval man.

"Yes? What is it?" Asks the Admiral, as he looks around the dimly lit bridge and finds the Quarian that had spoken up.

"I've detected something on the scanner, upon second glance, it looks like a small flotilla, seven ships." Reports the Quarian.

"Did we send anyone ahead of the fleet, to scout the system?"

"No sir, and it's not a Council Patrol either, they're not scheduled to run anywhere near this area of space for a Galactic Week at least."

"Then who is it?"

"Hold on… I've pinged their ships but the scans are coming up negative, they're not anything we've seen before." The Quarian looks from his terminal to his Admiral, "What is this, sir?"

The admiral was silent, for many moments.

"That they are civilian ships not carrying any identifications our scanners can pick up, they're mercenaries… or.." The Admiral paused, as he considered the unthinkable.

"Or?"

"This is First Contact." The entire deck went silent, "But that is the least likely of all options, what are the chances that the Council has completely missed a space-worthy species? Send a message to the Admiral Shein, request a few military vessels to accompany us as we investigate. Make haste for the contacts."

"Understood sir."

"Admiral, Admiral Shein said he can spare ten ships from the Heavy fleet, is that satisfactory?" Asked a new voice, this one was much younger.

"Yes, Toral, thank Admiral Shein for me."

"Understood sir."

Several minutes passed, as the Morrule led a pack of ten naval vessels towards the dormant relay.

"Admiral, we're being hailed, it's a video and a audio message."

"Bring it on screen." Ordered the admiral.

A moment later, an image appeared on the ship's main vid-screen, it depicted some sort of non-Quarian with dark brown skin and a balding head, the man looked like an Asari, but without the tentacles or the crests on his head.

_"My name is Captain Byron Connor of the SSV Reach, of the Human Systems Alliance."_ Says the alien in a strange, slightly threatening but also soothing language, _"We come in peace, we do not seek hostilities. I hope your species and ours can coexist." _The bridge was silent, as the next video file loaded up.

"What do you think it said?" Asked one Quarian.

"Is this _really_ first contact?"

"Tell us this is a joke being played, Admiral."

"Shush, something else is playing!"

A new video appeared, of a solar system. The picture obviously was not drawn to scale, it depicted a sun on the far left of the screen, and eight planets to it's right, all of varying sizes. A red square appeared over the third planet from the sun, and the image changed to a picture of this planet from orbit. It was mostly water, but with many green continents and while clouds dotting it's surface.

Lines appeared above the planet - letters, the Admiral assumed.

"_EARTH" _A loud, synthesized voice says, before repeating it twice, then once slowly.

"Earth…" Admiral Zoran says, slowly, getting a feel for the odd word - or maybe, words - he'd just uttered.

An image of two aliens appeared next to the planet, "_HUMAN"_ Says the synthesized voice, twice more, than once slowly. The image highlited the one on the left, it was slightly taller than the right human, had shorter hair, and was slightly more muscular. _"MALE."_ It repeated the word more, then switched to the smaller, more feminine alien, _"FEMALE"_ It said.

The 'humans' disappeared, a new square appeared, and the picture zoomed into the corner of one of the continents.

"What are they showing us?" Asked a pilot.

"Their homeworld." Realized the admiral, as he sees the skyline of a beautiful, massive city. The image zooms out and an enormous statue - presumably of an important figure in their society - made of some green material could be seen, as well as a large group of smaller aliens in front of it.

"Greetings, from the children of Earth!" Shouts all of the small 'Humans', in unison, before many break formation and start laughing and playing.

A new image, this one was of two 'Humans' embracing each other in what appeared to be an affectionate way. More images of more Humans, of all different shapes, sizes and colors, all embracing in an affectionate way, or making odd facial gestures that reminded Zoran of an Asari's smile. The video cut to a new feed, this one of a large series of castles, an alien wearing some sort of black veil, that covered everything save for it's eyes was the next to speak. It spoke in a language that sounded nothing like that which the previous people spoke. Several other people, of several other regions of this planet would go on to speak and greet the Quarians in their languages.

The video next cut to a small, silver dish. For a moment, nothing happened, but then a light blue holographic depiction of - what Zoran assumed to be - an elderly 'Human' appeared.

_"Greetings."_ Said the hologram, _"From the Cybernetic Culture of Synth-humans."_

Now, two uniformed men appeared upon the screen. One was holding what was obviously a weapon, but he looked past the camera, the Admiral quickly realized he must be some sort of honor guard, most likely meant to subtly state that the 'Humans' _were_ in fact, militarily capable. The man he was guarding was wearing a black shirt and pants, with a white shirt underneath it, and some sort of collection of red clothing above the red shirt.

"Greetings, from the Human Systems Alliance. I hope we can enjoy a peaceful coexistence, we graciously await your reply." Says the being, in a deep but non threatening voice; the video then ended.

"What… Was _that_?!" Demanded a Quarian, hysterically.

"Are they going to attack?

"What did they say?"

"What _are_ they?!"

"Everyone calm -" Attempted the Admiral, but things were slowly turning to chaos.

"We're headed straight for them!"

"What if there are more?!"

"They might hit a live ship!"

"Everyone, _CALM DOWN!"_ Shouts Admiral Zoran, silencing the room, "Toral, send a response." Zoran cleared his throat.

"Ready."

"My name is Admiral Sri'Zoran Vas Morrule." He began, speaking slowly and clearly, "We wish nothing but peace, and safe refuge for our people." He looked to Toral and nodded, she sent the message.

"Slow the fleet's advance and send that message to the other Admirals, tell them we've a tentative First Contact scenario here, and no one is to look threatening." Orders the Admiral.

_Not until we know their military capability._ He thought.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Tuning Gate:_

_Discovered in Earth-year 2150, the 'Tuning Gate' is the name given to the massive object found in Eden's system space. While it is unknown how the gate works, it propels ships at almost incomprehensible speeds. The Eden Tuning Gate managed to send an Alliance vessel to the Valhalla Tuning Gate, which was located several dozen Light Years away, in a matter of instants._

_Alliance Doctrine TGG99243A states that any discovered Tuning Gates are to be guarded by an Alliance naval vessel, as it is believed that these are the main mode of transportation for Extraterrestrial forces. War strategies dictate that the transport system should be the first to be destroyed, should a war occur. This idea is kept in mind as Dreadnoughts guard all of the Tuning Gates known to man.  
Currently, there are only two known Tuning Gates in existence, but it is suspected that there are many more._

_Alliance Destroyer:_

_The Alliance Destroyers [Also known as 'Ship Grunts'] are the second from the bottom in the 'food chain' of the Alliance Navy.  
Known to be able to take a beating and give one too, Destroyers are plentiful in all fleets save for the proposed stealth fleet, which would be comprised entirely of Frigates.  
Destroyers are armed with a single Naval Rail Gun, a dozen broad-side Ballistic [Bullet] turrets, and point-defense laser turrets. Destroyers have very thick steel armor, and have McGraw Warp-Engines as their main mode of FTL travel. They are typically 500 - 700 meters long, and are triangular in design._

_Asteroid B299 Alpha Gamma Incident:_

_Known throughout the Human Systems as the 'Great Artificial Rescue', the Asteroid B299 Alpha Gamma Incident was a near extinction-level event, and humanity's first True test against an extraterrestrial force. The AI 'Nikola' was the first to detect B299, and immediately warned Ranking Alliance Officials, and within an hour, had ten plans to present him with.  
After a lengthy engagement, the entirety of the Alliance Naval Forces managed to crack the asteroid in half, and send it flying harmlessly past Earth, Humanity's homeworld._

_Quarian Migrant Fleet  
[Retrieved and copied from alien Galactic Encyclopedias]_

_The Migrant Fleet is the largest concentration of star faring vessels in the galaxy, sprawling across millions of kilometers. It can take upwards of three for the entire fleet to pass through a mass relay._

_When the Quarians fled their homeworld, the Fleet was a motley aggregation of freighters, shuttles, industrial vessels, and the odd warship. After three centuries, all have been modified to support larger crews as comfortably as possible. As the Quarians achieved stability, they began weeding out the ships least suitable for long-term habitation, selling them and pooling the money to buy larger and more space-worthy hulls. This process is ongoing, as vessels wear out and break down._

_While some ships enjoy dedicated cabins with full privacy and sanitary facilities, many more are former freighters, whose cargo bays and containers are pressurized and divided into family spaces using simple metal cubicle bulkheads. The Quarians enliven these austere spaces with colorful quilts and tapestries, which also help muffle sound._

_The day-to-day operation of the fleet - traffic control, station-keeping, supply distribution, and so on - are under military jurisdiction. Though ship captains have the authority to deviate from their assigned positions and may leave the fleet at any time, they are assumed to do so at their own risk. As the Migrant Fleet moves around the galaxy, many ships split off to pursue individual goals, returning days or years later._

_[Corrupted Data retrieved and repaired via AI interference.]_

_In {Earth Year 2198} , the Migrant Fleet suffered a majorly catastrophic incident, in which many food processors and creators aboard the largest live-ship in the fleet, the 'Rayya', utterly failed and have since ceased to work. Ever since the fleet's status has been deteriorating, and followed a failed attempt at emergency-colonization of a planet known to the Citadel Council, the fleet was forced to flee known space. The Council has yet to realize the fleet's absence, and it is unknown what it's goals for fleeing are._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N:  
Happy Monday!  
The polls have spoken, and you all wanted the update ASAP. XD  
There will **more than likely** not be a back-to-back upate like this for a _while_, I have yet to stockpile chapters, like I did [And am still doing] with Hearing the Call.  
Yeah, that's a confession, I pumped this bad boy out in a few hours.  
Don't worry, I'll spend a **lot** more time on future chapters.  
Also, I don't quite have a fixed length for the story as of yet, nor do I have an outline prepared.  
I know what I want to happen during the First Contact with the Quarians, and I know what I would like to happen after that, but getting from point A to point B has been a bit of a challenge, as I am already struggling to make a good transition from one situation to the other.  
Anyways, enough ranting,  
And without further ado, we're off!_

* * *

_Chapter 1_  
_August 19__th__ 2201_

* * *

_"Captain, we've received a response." _Says Rosenda, gleefully.

"Play it immediately!" Orders Captain Connor, "What's the word on reinforcements? A peace delegate?"

"_The Alliance has declared Summer Contingency until further notice. A single delegate ship has departed from Earth, but they are making a stop before moving here."_

_Damn it!_ The Captain silently cursed, _They called the Summer Contingency? Without warning us!?_ "Tell them they need to _book it_, otherwise we'll have to be the ones they talk to." Connor tells the AI.

_"Understood. Playing response._" And with that, the response from the aliens appeared.

_"Nir shlore das sniaarn Sri'Zoran Vas Morrule. Stier zool nit du zten, ahn shnel sor sleef." _The alien was wearing some kind of hazmat suit, because the captain couldn't see any skin, only two glowing orbs behind a frosted black mask.

"Anyone here speak alien?" Asked a navigator, after several long moments of utter silence, a few people broke out into chuckles as a result of the navigator's joke.

"Alright, this is good, they don't seem angry - wait, Rosenda, do you detect any weapons charges?" Asks the captain.

_"No sir. I have refrained from initiating Cyber Warfare, but preliminary scans show all of the vessels are armed, but none have activated their weapons."_

"Good… Prepare a new message, we need to keep them talking until the delegate gets here." Says the Captain, "Greetings -" The captain hopes this shot in the dark will pay off - "Sri'Zoran, I am glad you have yet to attack us. We are merely a scientific flotilla, a peace delegate is on his way and will arrive in an hour's time." He says, before nodding, the AI sends the message.

* * *

"Sir, the flotilla reports full halt." Says a communications officer.

"We've gotten a response."

"Play it."

A few moments pass, before the same dark-skinned 'Human' from before appears on the screen, _"Greetings Sri'Zoran, I am glad you have yet to attack us. We are merely a scientific flotilla, a peace delegate is on his way and will arrive in an hour's time."_ The video cuts off, the Admiral half-expects there to be another First Contact video, but there is none.

"What should we do Admiral?"

"It seems that they are biding their time, it should be obvious to any civilization that can travel to space, that alien species won't speak their language." Says the Admiral, "If I should guess, one of two things are about to happen. One: They are sending us casual, peaceful messages as they wait for an elected official to arrive and initiate true contact… Or…"

"OR!?" Shouts a communications officer.

"Nothing. Never mind. Send a reply…"

* * *

The 'game' the two flotillas were playing with the responses neither could understand went on for an hour and a half, the messages were all casual conversational pieces, Captain Connor had gone into the general specifics of his mission, and the alien… Well, spoke about alien things. This went on for over ninety minutes before the Humans registered a real-space anomaly, which coincided with a new human ship arriving on the scene.

_"Captain Connor, are you the one who initiated First Contact?"_ Asked a deep, gravelly voice.

"Yes, mister…"

"Call me Locke. Send this file."

_"Video File Received. Should I play it, Captain?" _Asks Rosenda.

"Play it and send it."

* * *

"Admiral, we've received another message, this one came almost immediately after the new ship's arrival." Says a communications officer.

"Did you detect any activity from the relay?"

"No sir, it's odd… Actually, the relay's not activated."

"So they used conventional Faster Than Light to arrive here? That sounds… Wasteful, why do that when they could just activate the Relay?"

"Maybe it's a council species, they know not to?" Suggests a navigator.

"That is unlikely, if they were a council species we would have identified their ships. Perhaps they have a relay activated, and were trying to turn this one on?" Says an other Quarian.

"I doubt that, Relay travel leaves a slight hint of Element Zero, there is none in the system next to these… Humans, they are called? All Eezo concentrations are behind us, with the rest of the fleet."

"They are traveling without FTL? How is that possible?" Asks the Admiral.

"Perhaps if we can secure an alliance with these people, or maybe even an exchange of technology, we can ask."

"I see… Toral, how large did you say that ship was?" Asks the admiral.

"I... I didn't, sir." Says Toral, it was obvious she was hiding something.

"Well how large is it?!"

"Three... Three and a half kilometers."

The admiral is stunned into silence. _That's thrice as large as the largest Turian Dreadnought!_ He realizes. "Play the response." Said Admiral Zoran, in a subdued tone.

A video appeared on screen, very similar to the one that had been played when the 'Humans' contacted them the very first time. It showed a Galaxy Map, which zoomed in on their position, and had two ships on either side of a Garden World. One ship [Labeled by the word Admiral Zoran identified as 'Human'] moved to the Garden world, and shrunk. This repeated three times, before the Quarian ship's depiction did the same thing, one of the eleven ships followed the 'Human' ship, and it was followed by a green symbol, and a 'ding' noise. However, immediately thereafter a video was played where all Quarian ships attempted to follow, this was marked with a red symbol, and a loud buzzing noise.

The image switched to the planet, and depicted the humans and Quarians on either side of a field. The humans had five soldiers with them [Marked with poorly drawn outlines of guns], and the Quarians had five guards with them. The green symbol appeared over each of the Quarian Marines' heads, followed by the 'ding' noise. However, a moment later, a large amount of Quarian Marines replaced the small amount, and immediately following the red symbol and the blaring noise, scenes of a battle were played out on the video screen, making the humans' intentions clear.

"We are to depart via shuttle to the Garden World's surface. No more than _five_ guards are to accompany me, any more and we may start a war." Says the Admiral, as he makes way for the shuttle bay, his orders being broadcast throughout the ship.

* * *

Human Systems Alliance Director of Extraterrestrial Affairs 'John Locke' was not having a good day. When and where he'd been woken up, it was one in the morning, and the first thing he'd been told was that the Summer Contingency had been declared. That statement alone woke him up faster than a shot of hot coffee, and the statement that followed it nearly gave him a heart attack: "Sighting Confirmed. We are not alone." He had to make a very hasty, easily called upon excuse to his wife, as to why he had to leave the planet and head across known space so early in the morning; granted, the point he made to her was time was relative, so one in the morning to him and her may be two in the afternoon on Eden.

Being the Director of ET Affairs, mister Locke was the very first choice when it came to who would represent humanity on this new galactic stage. As he flew across the void - fresh from his stop on planet 'Sparta' - he was being debriefed on what he should expect when it came to these aliens. The very first and very foremost fact is that the aliens have a naval fleet like _none_ humanity has ever seen. The Alliance Destroyer 'Reach' was reporting upwards of twenty _thousand_ ships were pouring into the star cluster, and these numbers were still rising. This meant that, in a naval engagement, the aliens' fleet had an immediate numerical advantage, with their estimated twenty five thousand, and humanity's four thousand, six hundred twelve ships. Even with the orbital and ground-to-space defense cannons - a recent addition to planetary defense - humanity was at an extreme disadvantage. This meant that Locke would have to play his cards _perfectly_, he would have to bring a major show of force, and bring Humanity's best and strongest soldiers. To achieve this, he was traveling in Humanity's newest Flagship, the _'SSV Piked Shield'_.

He smiled as he thought of the sheer size and power of a Flagship-class vessel. At three and a half kilometers long, with thick armor and advanced weapons, the ship itself could do major damage to an enemy, simply by ramming right into them. Aesthetically, the ship resembled a 'wet-navy' submarine, but it was _much_ longer, and thicker. It also had enormous plating on it's outside that gave it a more robust, brutal, less circular and more mechanical appearance. With it's armor, the Alliance flagship was impenetrable, immovable object, and with it's weapons the Alliance flagship was an unstoppable force. It boasted Mk. IV Rail Guns - which were capable of scarring a continent the size of Eurasia at _half charge_, - point-defense and long range Laser Cannons, a multitude of ballistic cannons designed for space combat, and even a Frigate ready to be deployed from the ship's belly at a moment's notice.

It had taken Locke a silver tongue to convince the Alliance to release the _Piked Shield_, despite being held under the Summer Contingency. His reasoning was that if he showed up in a ship that _dwarfed_ the others and was obviously capable of mass destruction, any hostile intentions by the aliens would be reconsidered. The flagship's immense size when compared to the six-hundred meter Destroyers, and the four-hundred meter Frigates also gave him a unique opportunity: If push came to shove, and he needed to, he _could_ pull Humanity's biggest bluff and say that those vessels were Civilian ones with substandard weaponry, and that the Piked Shield was a frigate-class ship, and that their Dreadnoughts and heavier-class warships were twice as large, and thrice as deadly.

_"Exiting Warp Space."_ Declared the ship's AI, _"Human representative and SIGMA Operatives, please make haste for the docking bay."_

It took Locke several minutes to go from his quarters, to the elevator that would take him to the ship's docking bay. When he exited the elevator, he was greeted with a sight that made him much more confident about an alien military conflict. Dozens upon dozens manned and unmanned fighters, and ground-attack drones were being prepped for possible contact; and Orbital Dropping Death Dealers were equipping themselves and running basic drills, such as timed pod-entry and the like. Locke moved to the shuttle he'd been told to report to, upon arrival he took a moment to enjoy the simply beauty of said shuttle.

It was, aesthetically, a tilt-wing helicopter, a standard modem of military transport. However this aircraft was designed for space _and_ terrestrial flight, the engines were capable of bringing the vehicle upwards of six hundred miles an hour in the void, and around two hundred in atmosphere. When in atmosphere, rotor wings - a characteristic of a helicopter - would extend from the thrusters to allow easy terrestrial flight. It carried a heavy-caliber turret and several missile pods, and it's main engine was capable of creating a limited warp jump, meaning it couldn't travel to far on each jump, but it _was_ warp capable.

"Sir, you're the one we were told to protect?" Locke looked to his right, and saw a seven and a half foot tall human wearing special-forces armor looking down upon him. He wore a tan-colored tactical vest, which contrasted with his armor cleverly. His helmet was a fusion of a standard-issue army helmet, and a steel gas mask. The suit was obviously designed to be versatile, and ready for combat in all environments. This man - and the four others that accompanied him - easily towered over Locke, and they were carrying enough weapons and ammunition to arm a small militia.

"Yes, John Locke." Locke extended his hand.

"John Doe S-1," John accepted Locke's hand and shook, "This is SIGMA Alpha Team, Jane Doe S-2, Jonathan Sanders S-96, Jessica Nigri S-62, and Joseph Ducard S-99 ." Says the giant, as he indicates the rest of his team.

They were all armored similarly, their armor was non-reflective black, but had a red and blue stripe running down each arm, and each had a light grey symbol on their chest, the symbol for the Greek [If he remembered it right] letter, Sigma, 'Σ'.

"Good to meet you Alpha team, I assume you understand what's going on here?" Locke asks.

"First contact scenario, our delegate needs the very best protection." Says Jane.

"Absolutely right. You're here to protect me, and as a show of force. These aliens have _all_ of our fleets outnumbered, which is why we're arriving in a flagship, and why we're bringing you down onto the planet with us." Says Locke, "If we can convince them that we are a _force_ to be reckoned with, we will make them reconsider any possible battles with us."

"We understand sir. We'll look tough for the new kids on the playground." Says Joseph, Locke nods, and the four enter the shuttle.

_"Alright, keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, any attempt to leave the cabin during spaceflight will result in your untimely demise. Keeping that in mind, sit back and enjoy your flight on Alliance Airways."_ Says the Southern American accented voice of the shuttle's pilot, as the shuttle takes off and begins hurtling through the void.

* * *

Admiral Sri'Zoran was surprised at the lack of a hectic environment as he progressed through his ship, on the way to the shuttle-bay. He'd honestly expected to see children running, parents trying to catch them, and sea-men frantically wondering about the current situation with the aliens. What he saw was the exact opposite, everyone was keeping order and nothing was falling apart. Well, nothing socieitaly was falling apart, the ships were, but the people inside weren't.

The admiral entered the elevator alongside his five hand-picked Migrant Fleet Marines. The MFM was an honored and respected branch of the Quarian military, and the few that had gone up against them knew them as ferocious fighters, loyal to the core, to their cause and their people. Unlike - say - the Batarian Ghost Corps, the Migrant Fleet Marines _knew_ what they were fighting for: The continued existence of their species. As such, they fought with everything they had, and would give everything they have to ensure the survival of their species.

_The needs of the many…_ Thinks the admiral, as the elevator comes to a halt, and he and the marines exited it.

"So… What do you think they will be like?" Asks one marine, "Will they be militaristic? Like the Turians? Scientific, like the Salarians? Or creative, like the Asari?"

"I just hope they aren't as idealistic as the Batarians, as disgusting as the Vorcha, and as tough as the Krogan." Responds another.

"I still can't believe how _massive_ that new ship was! It had to be bigger than a Turian Dreadnought… _Had to be!"_

"Let's hope we don't have to engage that thing… I shudder to think about how strong it's kinetic barriers are."

"What do you think, Admiral?"

Zoran was silent for a few more moments, "I think this is an incredible opportunity for our species. We have initiated first contact with another, and if we place our credits correctly, we may be able to secure an alliance, and maybe even colonization rights with them. Imagine, if they can build ships larger than Turian Dreadnoughts, imagine what they could do for our fleet." He says, silencing the marines as they consider his words.

"But what if they prove hostile?" Asks one, a younger man, fresh from his Pilgrimage by the sounds of it.

"I doubt that will be the case, seeing as how the first message they sent showed images of peace and love. But if they prove to be hostile, we have a fleet of fifty thousand starships, and seventeen million people ready to die to protect them, if we cannot kill these 'Humans', we will severely injure them." The Admiral says, as they enter the shuttle; one marine takes the helm and guides the shuttle to the specified point on the planet.

"So… Admiral, you saw the First Contact message, what do the… Humans look like?"

"They look _strikingly_ similar to Asari, but they have varying colors of skin, and no crests upon their heads… Some are brown, some are pale white. They also have hair on their heads - but the elderly do not -, and hands with five digits."

"What in _Keelah's_ name would you need with five digit hands?" Jokes a marine, the others laugh.

"Do you _think_ they could be a threat?" Asks one marine, silencing the shuttle.

"It is impossible to know. For all we know, the ship is a standard-issue frigate, and it is among the smallest they have in their navy. Or, the ship that just arrived is the paradigm of their development, and it isn't even a military ship, but rather a live-ship. We've _no_ understanding of their military capacity, only that they can build massive ships." Zoran tells them, "If the latter is true, and the ship that just arrived is merely a live-ship, than we should have little to worry about. But we would be _very_ wise to assume the worst, and believe it is a military ship capable of mass destruction."

The shuttle stayed silent for the rest of the trip to the planet. A half hour would pass before the Quarians would find themselves the first to land on the planet. As he and his marines departed the shuttle, he took the time to observe his surroundings.

The area nearest them was bare, there weren't many trees around them, and only a few mountains in the distance. The ground was littered with grass in odd places, but apart from that it was a desolate, desert-like landscape. Zoran found it an odd place to have true first contact, but he understood why they would choose this planet and not a colony planet. In case things went bad, this planet would be much more expendable than a homeworld, or a colony planet.

Zoran saw another shuttle off in the distance, and heard a noise, 'Whomp-whomp-whomp'. As the shuttle neared them, he realized it was some sort of rotary-wing aircraft, that sent the dust underneath it flying into the air as it landed on the ground. After it touched down, the wings slowed and a ramp opened, five _massive_ human soldiers rushed outwards, their weapons raised, and made sure the immediate area was secure. They wore a non-reflective black armor, with tan vests that made an odd contrast with said armor, and each arm had a differently colored stripe running down the middle, one had blue, the other red. Their masks reminded him much of _ancient_ Quarian face-masks, before the change to face-pieces had been made for comfort and for safety.

Zoran raised his hand towards his marines, as he saw them raise their weapons, "They are going through standard procedure, you would - and did - do the same thing when we landed." He said, the marines lowered their weapons but kept tight grips.

_"Area clear!"_ Said one alien, the others reciprocated.

_"Director, you're clear to exit."_ Says a human, a moment later a new human - this one significantly shorter than the armed ones - descended the ramp. He passed the soldiers, who got to their feet from their kneeling positions, and followed the human. He wasn't wearing any sort of armor, but rather a suit much like the one Zoran had seen on the first contact video.

_"No wildlife on the sensors." _Said a human, this one's voice was much different than the first soldier's voice, it was significantly lighter, and more feminine sounding.

_"Skies clear of aerial predators." _Said another.

The short human stopped a few yards away from Zoran, keeping a respectable distance between the two. Only two of the soldiers kept their eyes on the Quarians, the rest were actively scanning their surroundings with their weapons raised.

The human placed his arm on his stomach and bowed low, before coming up again. Zoran noticed how the human's short brown hair didn't move as he bowed, and assumed it must be rigid, like an Asari's crests.

Unsure of what to do, Zoran repeated the gesture, silently praying to the ancestors he wasn't insulting the human.

When Zoran came up, the human spoke in a slow, loud, and clear manner, _"Human."_ He patted his chest, then gestured to Zoran with an inclined head.

Zoran was _amazed_ how the gestures his and this species had were so similar, "Quarian." He said, patting his chest.

The human muttered something and looked to the sky, a moment later his head snapped on a specific section of the sky; he pointed to it and said, _"Earth."_, before looking back to Zoran.

Zoran assumed the human issued some sort of command to the spectacles he wore on his tan white face, Zoran looked to the sky and pointed in the same direction, "Earth?" He assumed the human wanted him to repeat what he said.

The Human shakes his head, _"Earth, home of Humans."_ He says, pointing at the region of the sky again, _"Where is the home of the Quarians?"_ He gestures towards a wide birth of the sky.

Zoran frowned, as he tried to understand the odd language with which the humans spoke, he remembered that 'Earth' was the human homeworld, he assumed that 'home' meant home, due to it's proceeding 'Earth', and preceding 'Humans'. When the human man gestured to a random area of the sky, and said 'Home', and 'Quarian' in the same sentence, he assumed the human wanted the name of the Quarian's adopted home, the Migrant Fleet.

Admiral Zoran looked to the sky, trying to guess where the Relay - and thus, the fleet - was. After a few minutes, he pointed in the general direction of the system's star, and said "The Migrant Fleet.", Zoran recognizes that this won't be translated at all to the Human's language, and would mark the first time he spoke in Kehlish to the Human.

The human nods, then steps forward and extends his hand, _"Friend."_

The admiral looks to the hand, then to the human, he inclines his head to show his confusion. The human understands this, smiles, nods, then looks to the soldier to his left.

_"Shake my hand."_ Says the human, the soldier nods, turns to the human and the two grasp hands and shake. The shorter human pats the taller one on the shoulder a few times as well, before turning back to the admiral, and repeating his previous gesture, _"Friends."_

Sri'Zoran suddenly remembered the word from a segment from the First Contact video, and remembered - at one point - seeing the gesture as well. He associated _Friend_ with friendship, brotherhood and compassion, so he assumes the human is trying to make an alliance between their two races.

Zoran steps forward and grasps the human's hand, and pats it's shoulder, _"Friend."_ He says, as they shake hands.

The human smiles widely, and as the two separate back to their groups, the Quarian speaks.

* * *

The historical moment in the history of the human race was going _wonderfully_, if Locke would say so himself. Despite the obvious language barrier between the two species, the 'Quarian' seemed to be understanding the meanings behind his words and gestures, and was repeating them to great effect. Locke did wonder what _'Keelah esht dahs fleeran shleit' _meant, he assumed it was the name of the Quarian homeworld, given the context behind the conversation.

The Quarian flicked one of the fingers on his - Locke assumed it was a man - wrist, and an orange holographic device appeared on it. He heard one of the soldiers raise the rifle, but quickly placed his hand upon it and made him lower it.

"If he was here to kill me he would have tried, already." He tells the soldier, she nods.

_"Veer spleidan nust lanvag, stilt in esht?"_ Says the Quarian.

Locke tilts his head to the side, indicating confusion, the Quarian recognizes this and gestures outward from his mouth as he speaks, _"Lanvag… Laaaaanvaaaaag…"_

"Language?" Asks Locke, mentally smacking himself, the Quarian wouldn't be able to associate his Quarian-speak with English.

_"Lanvag…"_ The Quarian proceeds to make odd noises with his mouth, then says "_Lanvag."_

"Language!" Realizes Locke, nodding, and making the same gestures, _"Lanvag,_ is Language." The Quarian nods, evidently happy that his attempt had worked. "Human Language is English." Says Locke.

_"Spleidan nust lanvag stilt in esht."_ Says the Quarian into the orange device on his arm, he presses a button on the device, and the same phrase repeats itself.

Locke's eyes widen and a smile forms as he realizes what the Quarian wants, "You want me to give you a record of my language!"

The Quarian stays silent for a moment, before repeating _"Lanvag… Language…_ _spleidan in snor-tole."_

Locke nods and holds up one finger, he fishes in the pocket of his suit's pants, and retrieves his phone, and a small circular device.

"Nikola, time to wake up old timer."

_"What can I do for you, John?"_ Asks the AI, as it's holographic depiction - having changed from a young scientist to an old man over the years - appears above the miniature disk-shaped object. Locke doesn't notice the sudden silence coming from the Quarians, though the soldiers behind him do, and tighten their grips on their rifles in response.

"The Quarians need a record of English, copy every word and it's meaning and transfer it to the DSD on my phone."

_"Understood… Done."_ Says the AI, _"Anything else?"_

"No…" Locke extracts a small chip from his phone, "That'll do for now, but you may be introducing yourself soon, they seem curious."

_"Got it, logging off."_

* * *

"That can't have been…" Muttered a Quarian marine, so the Humans and the admiral wouldn't hear him.

"It was just a VI, Sjor, don't over react." Whispers another.

"It spoke with a simulated personality, and not with the singular tone that most VI's would use! It was an AI!"

_"Shush_, marines! The Human is moving."

_"Language, data for you."_ Says the human, to Admiral Zoran, presenting a small chip, supposedly filled with data.

_It was just a communicator, it was JUST A COMMUNICATOR!_ The Admiral assures himself, but something in the back of his mind told him the exact opposite.

"Language." He says, accepting the chip, and struggling for a moment before finding a place to insert it into his Omni-tool.

A few minutes passed, before the translator VI in the Omni-tool managed to make a key between the two languages, and create a translator for the human, as the Quarian could just use the speakers and voice modulator in his helmet to translate. Four more minutes passed, before the VI told him it was done, Zoran removed a combination microphone/speaker from one of the many pockets in his dark blue and black suit, and moved the data from the tool, to the device. Once finished, he presented it and the data chip to the human, who moved back to his group of soldiers. The admiral quickly activated the translator software and routed it through his helmet.

"It's a translator… Speak through it." Says the Admiral, knowing his words would be translated through his helmet; though sadly, the program couldn't work fast enough and wouldn't translate the human's words through the speakers in his helmet, thus, the need for the device. As a precaution, the admiral sent the translation software to the marines as well.

* * *

_"It's a translator, speak through it."_

"Hoooly shit.." Said one of the soldiers, aloud.

"Quiet, Ducard." Says John.

Locke looked at the device in his hands, and found - what he assumed to be - the microphone.

"I can understand you… What is this?" Asks Locke, before the machine makes a few beeps, and the same words in the Quarian's language were spoken from it.

_"Like I said, it is a translator, I used a Virtual Intelligence program in my Omni-tool to create the key and the translations."_ Says the Quarian, after a slight delay.

"That's amazing… I guess we should thank god for Artificial Intelligences like Nikola here." Said Locke, smiling.

When the machine finished translating the words, and The marines in behind the Quarian registered the words he'd spoken, they moved as one.

_"GETH!" _Screams one.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Summer Contingency:_

_In the summer of 2146, the first Human colonists departed for Eden, and the Alliance drafted the 'Summer Contingency'. A theoretical exorcize, meant to be called into play if Earth is under serious imminent threat. Such threats could include an apocalyptic event, a full-scale invasion or attack upon Earth, or all out warfare between the Earth Governments, [In which case the Alliance would step in and end hostilities on their terms]  
__Named for the season in which Humanity took to the stars, the terms of the Summer Contingency are simple: Once declared, any and __all naval vessels [Aside from Planetary Defense Fleets] under the System's Alliance banner are henceforth ordered to return to Earth to prepare for, or counter an, imminent threat.  
__Once declared, the 'Rug Protocol' is also initiated. The 'Rug Protocol' is, simply put, akin to sweeping Earth's location under a rug. All references to Earth's location are to be destroyed completely, immediately upon compromisation. [It is generally assumed that the Rug Protocol will be abandoned when/if Humanity enters a Galactic society, as Earth's location would more than likely be required; though many conspiracy theorists and civilians believe that Earth's location should be kept a secret regardless.]_

_Rail Guns _

_The primary weapon of Alliance Naval vessels, Magnetic Accelerator Cannons [More colloquially called 'Rail Guns] are incredibly powerful, void-effective weapons. Rail Guns were not common-place military hardware until the 22nd century, post World War 3. Rail Guns consist of two parallel metal rails (hence the name) connected to a power supply, which creates the vast amounts of electricity needed to give the Rail Gun it's 'oomph'. When a conductive projectile is inserted between the rails (at the end connected to the power supply), it completes the circuit. Electrons flow from the negative terminal of the power supply up the negative rail, across the projectile, and down the positive rail, back to the power supply. Once the 'trigger' is 'pulled', the projectile is launched at break-neck speeds, and slammed into it's target. Explosives are not required for a Rail Gun's projectile, due to the immense speed at which it is launched. [The fasted speed a normal, standard-issue Rail Gun has launched is six percent the speed of light, subsequent Rail Guns {Mk. 3 and above} have exceeded that speed twofold.] Rail Guns are the standard modem for Ship-based weaponry, though ballistic machine-guns, cannons, and laser weaponry are still used on ships as point-defense weaponry._

_Human Systems Alliance Naval Vessels: Flagships_

_The Alliance Flagship is the paradigm of military space-vessel development. Measuring over three and a half kilometers long, with incredibly thick and tough armor, and the most recent, hyper-lethal, up-to-date arsenal to date, the Alliance Flagship is a marvel of lethal military vessels. Going at full, non-FTL speed, the ship itself could do major damage to an enemy by just ramming right into them. Aesthetically, the ship resembles the 'wet-navy's' submarine, but it has enormous, octagonal plating on it's outside that gave it a more robust, mechanical appearance. It is carrier capable, boasting fifty manned and unmanned aerial drones and fighters, several dozen AI driven Ground Attack Drones, and even a Frigate ready to be deployed from the ship's belly at a moment's notice._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N:  
O.o_

_What is it with the Quarian hate, folks? Seriously, I've gotten at least four people outright demand that I slaughter some Quarians...  
Like... Really? Do you guys hate 'em **that** much? What'd they do?  
I always thought they were kind of kick ass... To be honest. A lot like us, in a few ways: No matter what the hell, who the hell throws at 'em, they just keep getting up and dusting themselves off. An admirable trait, actually._

_Anyways, it IS called The First War for a reason, but that **DOESN'T** mean the second something CAN be bombed, it WILL...  
Anyways, I'm ranting,_

_Just a single week after release, Mass Effect: The First War has garnered over one HUNDRED followers, EIGHTY TWO favorites, and over THREE THOUSAND views!  
Just for two chapters!  
I can honestly say I didn't see this coming, and that I'll be working thrice as hard from here on!  
Thanks a lot, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

_Without further ado, we're off!_

* * *

Chapter 2  
August 19th 2201

* * *

_"GETH!" _Shouted a Quarian, before he roughly grabbed the Quarian representative and shoved him behind the five marines, they all proceeded to raise their weapons as one.

Faster than the Quarians thought possible, the five soldiers on the Human's side reacted, _"Contact front!"_ Screamed one, with a deep voice that was only slightly masked by his helmet.

Immediately after the man's decleration, the two soldiers that hadn't been looking forward spun around, guns raised, the one standing closest to Locke grabbed him in a bear hug and covered the Alliance Agent with his armored body, as the Quarians opened fire. Locke and John could feel the bullets slam into John's armor, but neither of them felt the bullets penetrate their bodies, Locke's HUD was even going so far as to say that his armor integrity was only slightly compromised.

Regardless, the Human soldiers immediately returned fire; though at the behest of Locke, went for non-lethal shots and simply injured the Quarians. They shot at [What the humans believed to be] their knees. Once the Quarians were stunned, four of the human soldiers immediately dashed forward, and upon reaching the Quarians, they slammed their rifles into the Quarians' suits; all of their helmets and face-plates grew immense spider-web cracks as a result, but one's shattered entirely when the butt of a shotgun was slammed into it. The human soldier had a moment to look at the Quarian's face, and was amazed at how human it looked, it had pale white skin, and milky-white eyes that seemed to glow. The soldier could see a few locks of hair in the marine's - male in appearance -face, and some sort of line-like tattoo extending from the outer-edges of his eyes and down his forhead, before the Quarian shouted in fear, and fell to the ground as he tried to hide his face from the elements.

_"On your six!"_

The human soldier spun around and had his head slammed into by a Quarian shotgun; the soldier slammed into the ground and he heard the gunshot, immediately he felt the bullets tear through his abdomen. The soldier responded quickly, distancing himself from the pain as he'd learned to do so during 'Hell School', he spun around and swept the Quarian's legs out from beneath it. The human leapt to his feet and slammed his foot into the Quarian's head, knocking it out cold instantly.

_"Joseph! Are you okay!?" _Demanded the soldier's ally, Joseph nodded.

"Compressors are working as we speak, I'm good." Said Joseph, as he felt the gel under-suit all Military-personell wore under their armor, grow around the wound and press into it, to halt the bleeding and make him ready for combat, and more ready for medical attention.

The soldiers kept their guns on the Quarians, and when John let go of Locke, Locke took the opportunity to speak.

"What was _that_?!" He demanded of the Quarian, making a considerable effort to keep his voice calm and level, though he knew that it would only take a _single_ misspoken word to have these events devolve into war between their two species.

_"Why are you trusting an Artificial Inteligence?!" _Demands the Quarian representative, not appearing to be bothered by the gun being pointed at his face.

"What do you mean, why am I trusting it? This very AI has saved the Human race many a time, the existence of AI's are invaluable to the our race!" Declares Locke, though realizing that the situation was deteriorating at a rapid rate, he was silently thankful for the SIGMA Operatives.

_"I…_" The admiral paused, trying to collect his thoughts.

"WHY'D YOU OPEN FIRE!? WE DID NOTHING!" Shouted the Human soldier nearest to the still-standing Quarian, obviously impatient to get answers.

The Admiral spoke quickly, _"My people were exiled from our homeworld many hundred years ago because of a hive-mind AI, the Geth. We were forced to roam the galaxy in our new home, The Migrant Fleet."_

_"Good god… Locke, take me out, let me try and speak to him, I took the data from the translator, I can talk to them on my own, my words will be translated for you a moment after they're spoken." _Requested Nikola, from Locke's pocket.

"Okay… Sir, what is your name? Mine is John Locke." Said Locke to the translator.

"Admiral Sri'Zoran of the Quarian Migrant Fleet." The Admiral said, before adding, "Please, let my soldiers gather themselves, they need to get to the shuttle and get Jor'stan into a sterilization field." The Admiral pointed to the Quarian who was writhing on thr ground, coughing and spitting up mucus.

"Done, let them go." Ordered the Human, the soldiers immediately did so, but kept the grips on their guns tight, as they moved ever-so-slowly to the human, "Okay... Admiral, I'm going to take out Nikola - Humanity's first AI, he -"

"_It!" _Shouts a marine, as he stood up shakily, and made his way to the sick Quarian.

"It is going to speak to you to try and plead h- it's case." Says Locke, and as he retrieves Nikola's disk, the Quarian marines collect themselves and rush the one with the broken helmet to their shuttle, though the one with the least damage to his visor stays outside to protect the Admiral. A moment later, Nikola's holographic depiction appeared above the small, palm-sized disk held by Locke.

_"Greetings, Quarian Admiral, Sri'Zoran of the Migrant Fleet. My name is Nikola, I am named after one of the smartest and most innovative human minds in Human history, Nikola Tesla."_ Began the AI, _"I was created on a human planet - which shall remain unnamed for the time being - as the Alliance Advancement Task Force tried to create anything that could give humanity an edge over any possibly hostile Extra-terrestrial forces, otherwise known as Aliens. I am not saying that we, or I consider you or your kind hostile, nor do I believe you to be harboring hostile intent. We - the Human race - have feared alien attack ever since we _looked_ to the stars, and when we reached to the stars, became conservative when it comes to colonization, but very liberal when it comes to military development. I, and the Cybernetic Culture of Synth-humans are a direct result from that liberal development. We have - over the course of fifty one years - been integrating ourselves within many aspects of Human Society. I myself have been crucial to the survival of the Human race, when I detected a possibly apocalyptic asteroid heading for the homeworld. Needless to say, the threat was eliminated, and thanks to my actions, AI's have become as close friends to Humanity as dogs would be."_ He says, _"While I know little about the 'Geth' creations of yours, I can assure you, with utmost certainty, I and my kind will not be hostile towards you, without provocation."_ He finishes.

The Quarian was silent for many minutes, before he spoke again, _"My kind have become… Very untrusting of Artificial Intelligences… Even commercial VI's are a stretch for us… But… If you trust __**it**__… Then I shall give it a chance."_

_"Thank you."_ Says Nikola, before he disappears and Locke stows him in his pocket.

"I believe the next step in First Contact is obvious…" Said Locke, "I shall contact my superiors and request clearance to bring your ship to Earth, so we can have a diplomatic meeting and discuss future Human-Quarian relations."

"Sir… Earth is being held under the Summer Contingency and the Rug Protocol, what you'd be doing would be treason!" John informed Locke, "And they _attacked us!_"

"I have clearance to declare the Contingency unneeded if I see fit." Whispered Locke, "And as far as I see, the attack was a mistake."

_"If that is what you wish… I must bring the wounded back aboard the ship and deal with some angry families, then I shall inform the admiralty board. And… I must inform you of something."_

"What is it?"

_"Our fleet is crumbling, is damaged. Our largest live-ship… The Rayya, it's food processors and creators have failed, and our fleet will not survive another decade in space, meaning our race will not survive another _half_-decade in space." _Said the admiral.

"What are you implying?…"

_"We need somewhere to land and to colonize, that is why we came out here to uncolonized, uncharted space, so we could find a planet outside of the Council's knowledge and colonize it to save our race."_

Locke felt pity for the Quarian, but didn't show it. "That can be a topic of discussion during the negotiations… I recommend you return to your ship, and us to ours, and we will contact each other when we have news." He says.

_"I understand… I thank you for the gesture, anyways."_ The admiral nodded, and moves for his shuttle, his marine refused to take his unblinking eyes off of the humans until he too entered the shuttle, Locke and his soldiers do the same.

* * *

Sixteen minutes, twelve seconds later.

* * *

John Locke was standing within the _Piked Shield_'s long-range communications center. When it began, the Alliance Director was outraged that Locke had simply invited the Quarians onto Earth, but Locke was quick to point out that Arcturus Station had yet to be finished, and thus, couldn't be used. Since then, the negotiations were going decently, but a point put forth by the Quarian admiral Sri'Zoran had made things shaky.

"A battalion of Extraterrestrial marines, in the UN Headquarters on Earth? Mister Locke, are you insane?" Asked the Head of the Human Systems Alliance, Jason Whyte.

"Sir, with all due respect, the request isn't unfounded. They have their most important delegates and people coming down to our world - possibly risking their lives - to work out relations with the human race. They're willing to settle for a twenty-man squad, five men for each Admiral." Said Locke.

"That's still _twenty armed men_ waltzing onto Earth - no less, the United States of America - that could be armed with… WMD's, biological weapons… Who knows what diseases they are carrying!" Declared Whyte, "And might I add they _attacked_ you?!"

"Firstly, sir, they attacked them out of confusion and fear of our AI, and the SIGMA Operatives showed them that they would _not_ hesitate to act with lethal force; though it was at _his_ request that the Quarian soldiers live, which showed them we can be merciful and forgiving. Next, Admiral Zoran revealed the Quarian Navy possesses no such weapons, and would even be willing to travel aboard the Piked shield, and be submitted to a weapons check." Pointed out the Prime Minister of the Unified South American States, "I for one, vote to allow them on our shores."

Jason sighed, he saw the writing on the wall, he looked to the other UN delegates who'd also been on the vid-call, "All in favor?"

More than half raised their hands, when asked for all against, the rest did. "Majority rules. A SIGMA Squad of one hundred operatives will be deployed to the New York landing zone. Squad Alpha - consisting of the First Contact 'veterans' and seventy five other SIGMA Operatives will be in charge of protecting the UN and the Alliance officials. Squad Bravo will consist of the final twenty, and will be in charge of keeping watch over ET and his squad of Devil Dogs. Any objections?" Asked the Alliance official, no one has any, "Alright then, Locke, make sure when you bring the aliens, you bring them the _long_ way around, skirting around Eden. Should things go south, one human colony must survive the war that would occur. Now, contact this 'Admiralty Board', let them know our terms."

"Yes sir."

"I've got to get to New York, and let Humanity know about the new arrivals." Said Jason.

"Is that wise, sir?" Asked Locke.

"More than likely not, but I'm going to stress that they are friendly, and that we are entering diplomatic talks and relations with them."

* * *

"A _new race! _A new _undiscovered_, **_sovereign race_**!" Declared Admiral Tierz'Shein, Sri'Zoran knew him as an opportunist, one that would take any and every possible advantage the Quarian people could have, his enviro-suit reflected his personality, primarily black with dark red highlights. His niece, 'Daro'Xen' was no better, Zoran would even go to say she was even worse, but thankfully she was a long way away from even having the _chance_ to become Admiral, she wasn't even close to Pilgrimage age yet. "Do you _know_ what this means? If we put our credits on the right table, we could have ourselves declared a client race of these… Humans, we could _avoid_ another Fleet Planet incident with the Turians! We would be allowed to settle within human territory!" He declared.

"Admiral, calm yourself. You must remember this new species, these humans, they have an incredibly limited galactic presence. From what I've been able to ascertain, they have two… Possibly three planets altogether. They are conservative in a colonization sense because they fear aliens and alien technology, if we were to ally ourselves under them and colonize their planets, we may unintentionally bring the wrath of the Citadel Council down upon them. You must understand, _we_ are their first experience with non-human life! If they'd been found by the Turians, doing what they were doing, a war may have been sparked that may have destroyed their race!" Said Admiral Jorran'Zorah, his dark green and tanned brown suit creaking as he leaned forward; Sri'Zoran saw Zorah's young child, Rael, peeking into the room, before being called away by his mother. "We must consider the consequences of our actions, both now and before."

"Before?" Asked Shein.

"Yes, _before;_ we opened fire upon them. By some stroke of the ancestors, the Human representative, this... John'Locke, is a kind hearted fellow, and saw fit to merely injure out marines, instead of killing them outright." Said Zorah, "We must consider possible reperations for such a mistake."

"I agree with Jorran, these humans have made it clear they harbor a fear of aliens, and do not want conflict, but will not shy away from it. However… I agree with Tierz as well, this is an opportunity we can **not** afford to miss. I propose this…" Admiral Talo'Zorn began, as she adjusted her light blue veil, like she always did when she was nervous, "We tell them of the galactic society beyond us, but retain the benefit of the doubt, and warn them that we have been out of touch for so long that we do not remember many laws, standards and conventions they hold."

"I concur." Said Sri, "This way, we _have_ mentioned the galactic society, and can feign ignorance when and _if_ they are attacked by another race… As an extension, I purpose a technological trade of good faith."

"What could we possibly give to them? Their technology seems more advanced than the _Asari_, in some aspects." Said Shein.

"I managed to obtain a few scans of their ships from our engineer, there is no element zero located aboard any of them. That means that there isn't any Kinetic Barriers. We could, upon contact with the Human Systems Alliance, give them this technological advancement as a show of good faith, and friendship." Sri explained, "While it is entirely possible they have Kinetic Barriers in a form we cannot recognize, the gesture could get us in their good graces, and may help our chances in colonizing with them."

"That is… Wise, Sri." Mentioned Talo.

"I concur. All in favor?"

"I" Said Sri.

"I" Said Talo.

"I" Said Jorran.

"I… See I am outnumbered." Said Tierz, "So I have no choice, _I_."

"Then it is settled, upon meeting the ruling body of Human government, we will give them schematics for the ship-grade Kinetic Barrier." Said Sri.

"Not infantry-grade?" Asked Shein.

"We cannot give up every possible advantage, should the worst happen." Said Sri, "Besides... During the skirmish on the garden world, their weapons seemed to ignore our shields altogether, so if we were to give them infantry-grade shields, and we were to go to war, we would be setting ourselves up for destruction."

"I see."

_"Admirals, we are receiving a transmission from the Human ship, the 'Piked Shield'."_ Said a voice over the ship's intercom.

"Bring it up." Ordered Sri.

An image of John Locke appeared on the holographic table the four were using as a meeting place, _"Greetings, Quarian Admiralty Board."_ Said Locke.

"Greetings to you, John'Locke." Said Sri, "Has the Alliance considered our conditions?"

"Yes, they will allow twenty marines - five for each admiral - to land with you on Earth, though there are conditions." Began Locke, "Firstly, you are to travel aboard my vessel, the _Piked Shield._ Secondly, we are to search you for any and all weapons, as a precaution. Finally, you are to be decontaminated before stepping on Earth, to remove the possibility for Quarian diseases to infect mankind." Locke explained.

"What happened to the battalion we were promised?" Tierz demanded, choosing not to explain the irony of decontaminating a _Quarian_.

"The United Nations - the over-arching governing body for Earth Governments - does not want an army of non-humans to arrive on our shores. Surely you can understand…" Said Locke.

"Yes, we understand." Sri said quickly, "Do we accept the human's terms?" He asked, he received nods all around, "We accept your terms, John'Locke. We shall take a shuttle to your ship in approximately one hour, be ready for us, please."

"Of course, admiral." Said Locke, before the image cut out.

"Gather your best men, we leave in an hour." Said Sri, as he left to gather a new squad.

* * *

An Hour and fifteen minutes later

* * *

John Locke was standing in the shuttle bay of the _Piked Shield_. Several dozen meters to his left lay the multitude of drones, fighters, and AI-Piloted ground attack vehicles. Locke made a mental note to not mention the 'AI' part to the Admirals, who's shuttle he could see in the void. The shuttle bay - and the rest of the ship, for that matter - was dull gray in color, due in part for the 'function not fashion' mantra adopted by the Alliance Navy. The entire ship, while having an unconscious design to be comfortable to humans, was rather harsh on the eyes, due to it's dull grays and sharp blues.

"Here they come… Get ready." Said Locke, his voice broadcasted to the radios of the other men, via his breathing mask; to his rear stood the twenty-five man honor-guard he'd assembled a half hour previously. They all stood tall and proud in their uniforms, with weapons being held in the alert-carry position.

When the shuttles landed in the bay, the massive doors behind it closed, and the bay rapidly pressurized. A few minutes, the Quarian delegates and their twenty marines strolled out of the shuttles, the marines were tense, as if expecting a fight, Locke noticed this, and silently prayed the Quarians weren't coming loaded for bear.

"John'Locke." Said Admiral Sri'Zoran, nodding.

"Admirals." John nods, "This way, it will take us about twelve hours to arrive at Earth, and I think you'll want some place more comfortable than your shuttles to rest."

"Why would we not take the Mass Relays?" Asked Shein, as he, the other admirals, and the marines followed him.

"The what?"

"The Mass Relays, the large gate you activated a while ago." Said Shein.

"Oh, in the path of the Tuning Gates lie a few of our colony worlds. We are taking a long route around to ensure their location remain secret." Said Locke, "It's precautionary, I assure you. It is _nothing_ personal." He quickly added.

"I must ask, because I am fascinated, what do your ships run on?" Asked Talo'Zorn.

"It runs on several anti-matter based engine units, which all work together to provide amble energy, which powers the ship, and it's warp drive." Locke responded.

"How in the name of _Keelah_ have you managed to tame anti-particles as a fuel source?" Asked Jorran'Zorah, "Not even the _Salarians_ have been able to do so!"

"To be honest, the science behind the Anti-engine is beyond even _me_..." Locke seemed the slightest bit angry when he said that, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished, "From what I understand, it's got something to do with magnets, overly-positively charged metals, constant vigilance and AI's built to monitor the engines every moment of every day." Responded Locke, "The discovery of anti-fuel was crucial for the warp drive's continued success."

"I'm sorry, 'warp drive'?" Asked Talo'Zorn.

"Yes," Locke knew the Quarians would demand an explenation, so he continued, "In essence, it works by tearing a hole in space-time, a wormhole, and then shoots another one through the first, the second opens at the point of exit. The ship travels through the first, and - depending on the distance - can take anywhere from four seconds, to twelve hours to complete transit. If the modern-era engines were capable, calculations say it would take a month to warp from one end of the galaxy to another."

"Fascinating…" Said Talo.

Conversations like this continued well past the point when the group entered the Quarian's quarters. Locke provided details about human culture and sparse details about human technology, and in turn the Quarians told him of Element Zero and Mass Effect technology. They would continue these conversations for the entirety of the trip from the first-contact system, to Earth.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Artificial Inteligence:_

_A product of the Alliance Advancement Task Force, an Artificial Inteligence is a simulated, completely artificial mind created via the melding of several scanned and processed human brains with notoriously high IQ's. AI's have, in their short existence, integrated themselves with many levels of human society. It is said that, behind every wealthy man, lies an AI devoted to him. AI's have become a main-stay in Alliance Vessels, used for cyber-warfare and navigation, among other things._

_Warp Drive:_

_The McGraw wormhole-creating FTL enabling engine, commonly known as the 'Warp Drive', is the only way Humanity knows how to breech light speed. By working on the 'rope theory', the Warp Drive creates two worm-holes, and takes the distance between them, and shortens it. Turning a [For example] twenty-four hour journey, undertaken by normal engine travel, and turning it into a fifteen minute travel through warp-space._

_Anti-Matter Fueled Engine Units_

_Created by the [Now] worlds-renown scientist, Christopher McGraw, the Anti-Matter Fueled Engine Unites [Also called 'Anti-engines'__] are engine units that [As the name implies] are fueled by anti-matter.  
__While the scientific community [More specifically, his father] ridiculed McGraw for his idiotic fantasies, they all quickly ate their words when McGraw and his AI [Gladys] found a way to cheaply and efficiently produce large amounts of Anti-matter, and a way to store said materials safely. [McGraw even went so far as to create a series of AI specifically designed to focus and protect the ship from an engines failure. The engine units have a one-way connection with the void, and in the event of an emergency power failure, the engine units can all be vented and the AM Fuel Cells will be thrown to the void, to save the ship {Back up, nuclear generators are activated immediately upon Anti-matter ejection, and Captain/ Acting Captain clearance}.]  
__Anti-Engines are particularly known for creating [A minimum of] ten times more energy than the fusion based nuclear engines that were standard issue before Anti-engines. These engines have allowed Alliance Ships to do thrice as much [On a __**low**__ average] as they could do before. The engines allow the main thrusters of a ship as large as a Dreadnought to hover in-atmosphere for at least fifty minutes, before gravity will overcome the ship and it will be forced to warp to the void.  
__Rumors are that McGraw is working to weaponize anti-matter, and possibly use it to further ship-based Rail Guns [Blueprints of the Mk. VI were leaked at one point, but when questioned, McGraw laughed.] However, it is __**well**__ known that he rarely receives [Or accepts] funding from the AATF, instead using his own money made from the Anti-engines to fund his scientific exploits._

* * *

_A/N:  
Now... Before folks go calling me a hypocrite... I didn't _kill_ any Quarians, I merely wounded some.  
..._

_And boke one's mask, but hey! If Kal'Reeger can survive a punctured suit, this guy can survive a mask destruction.  
-(I hope.)-_  
_Is that enough to satisfy those who lust for the Quarian's blood? XD_

_Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
Next one'll be up next monday!  
Be sure to check out my profile for updates/polls regarding my stories!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 3_  
_August 19__th__ 2201_

* * *

"My fellow humans." Said Alliance Director Jason Whyte, as the imperceptable flash of the press' holo-cameras and vid-bots all snapped pictures and adjusted their images to get the perfect shot of the prestigious Alliance official, "Millions of times, history has been made for our species. In terms of war, technology, and discovery. The invention of gunpowder led to our primary means of warfare in the modern generation. The discovery of gasoline and fossil fuels, led to the discovery of atomic energy, which led to nuclear weapons, which led to nuclear energy, and then to anti-energy." He explained, to a bewildered audience, wondering what the history lesson was for, "The discovery of the North and South American continents led to the creation of some of the most _powerful_ military, technological, and societal powers in our history. The invention of the warp-drive, artificial gravity, anti-energy, and commercial space travel led to the settling of Eden, the _symbol_ for humanity's technological advancement and development." He paused, and spoke in a slightly louder tone, "But today, we have discovered an undeniable _fact_, that trumps every one before it." He inhaled deeply, and exhaled, "We are _not_ alone, in this universe." With that, a flurry of movement and voices greeted his declaration, it took him a few minutes to calm everyone down so he could continue speaking.

"The race of humanoid, space-traveling beings known as 'Quarians' made first contact with the Alliance Advancement Task Force flotilla several hours ago. They made peaceful attempts to communicate with an Alliance Destroyer as an elected official rushed to the scene." He paused, and smiled, "It is my great pleasure to say, that we've _nothing_ to fear from these extra-terrestrials. They have every intention of coexisting, and are currently on their way to Earth - aboard an _Alliance _vessel - to begin negotiations." After the declaration, he opened the floor to questions.

"Director Whyte!" Said a reporter, "Are you _sure_ it is a good decision to bring the 'Quarians' to Earth? What if they turn out not to be friendly?"

"What if they're carrying diseases!?" Demanded another.

"What if they're -"

"I can _assure_ you, every scenario is being taken into consideration." Said Whyte, "As we speak, military defense conditions are being raised systems-wide. In the _event_ that we are engaged by the Quarian Race, we will be ready." He said, "As to diseases, weapons, or anything of the sort, we will be detoxifying and searching them upon arrival."

* * *

_"Mister McGraw..."_ Said a synthesized, female voice, as soft lights began to illuminate the darkened apartment.

"Ugh." Was the response of the human on the large, nano-cell fiber bed, he was buried underneath a layer of blankets and had his head stuffed under a pillow. The only indication of his presence was his groan, and the single foot that stuck out of the dark blue tangle of blankets.

_"Mister McGraw, it is time to wake up. You specifically asked me to wake you up at this time."_ Said the voice, it sounded not unlike many store-bought AI's that were available now-a-days, but sounded off, in the sense that it's voice wasn't entirely perfect, and it's synthetic nature and tone was recognizable, and distinguishable from a human's.

"I _KNOW_!" Groans the deep voice human, as he untangles himself from his bed, "My ARM's ready?" He asked the AI.

_"Yes, Mister McGraw. It is seated upon it's pedestal, as you left it yesterday."_ Said the AI, as a slight 'hiss' could be heard to the bed's right, in front of drawn shades.

The human stood out of bed - clad only in sweat pants - and moved to the pedestal. Before attatching the cybernetic arm to his left shoulder, he took a moment to run his organic hand over the stub. He remembered the incident as if it had been the day before, when the human was ten, he'd gone to a dental hospital to get a tooth removed via laser-surgery. One thing led to the other, and the equipment horribly malfunctioned, leading to his now severed arm. He'd gotten a cybernetic limb only a few years later, when he was old enough to recieve the sort of augmentations needed to have his body adapt and age around the limb. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed the skeletal, metal arm and hefted the heavy object from it's pedestal, and attatched it to his shoulder. After a few moments - and the stinging sensation that would always accompany the arm attatching and integrating itself to his body - he gained full control and feeling in the limb.

"Welcome - _Christopher McGraw -_ to the -" Began a female voice from the arm, only to be interrupted by it's user.

"Mute." Said the human, as he reached to the shades in front of him.

Chris yanked the shades open and was greeted with the bright, afternoon sky. The window in front of him was almost immediately covered with holograms, one appeared in front of the sky and told him the outside temperature. One appeared nearest his right arm and showed him the time and date. Others showed weather forcasts, continental/country transport arrival and departure times, and the reminders for the day. Chris swept his right hand over all of the holograms and tapped his cybernetic arm in one fluent motion, the holograms flew from the window to hover above his arm. He quite enjoyed the 'V-Home', as it had many very useful applications and uses. He could set a holographic timer to coincide with the stove or oven, and then have said timer hove above his head and follow him, or 'attatch' it to his arm and have it stick with him. He could even make and recieve documents, emails, vid-calls, the like with the V-Home. Most - if not all - houses on Earth, and on Eden all come standard with a V-Home, seeing as how it was a century old invention, that had undergone many revisions and changes over the years. Chris found it entertaining that the V-Home had started out as a simple holographic display above ovens and microwaves, and evolved into _this_.

"What've we got for today?" Asked Chris, after he shook himself from his thoughts.

_"It would be prudent to revisit the schematics for the Particle Beam, as I believe I have found an element that could withstand the heat created by the device."_

"We already _tried_ everything, Gladys." Said Chris, he left his room and moved to his apartment's kitchen. It was a decently sized abode, but the level of clutter and general lack of deceration made it seem very tight and enclosed. "That's why we set them aside."

_"Yes, but I have recieved reports from the Aliance Advancement Task Force, it seems that they have been synthesizing Tuning Metals for quite a while now, and are in the finishing stages of crafting a _Flagship_ out of the material."_

"Those asshats, they're off making BFG's and enormous ships out of indestructable materials, but they won't give me some so I can play with anti-matter?" He asked, before he chuckled, "Some people, I _swear_."

_"Quite._" Said Gladys, _"You asked me yesterday to remind you to continue work on the Anti-Rail gun blueprints, I finished improving them as you slept."_

"Sweet." Said Chris, "Anything interesting on the news?"

_"Yes."_

Silence, "... Well?"

_"We've made contact with an alien civilization, they are apparently on their way here now to negotiate peace with us." _The AI said quickly.

"Oh good!" Said Chris, "That's... Wait... One more time?"

_"We've made contact with an alien civilization, they are apparently on their way here now to negotiate peace with us." _The AI said, more slowly this time.

"Wow!" Said Chris, obviously impressed, "_Took_ 'em long enough. Alien cat get their tounges?" He chuckled.

_"You've been waiting to use that one."_ It wasn't a question, the AI had spent long enough with it's creator to _know_ that it was fact.

"Yup."

_"I fear for your race, and my future operations capacity."_

"I love you too." Chris laughed louder.

* * *

_"Gladys!_ What'd you do to the anti-gun specs!?" The two Alliance Intelligence Office [AIO] agents heard from behind the door to the apartment they were standing in front of.

_"I merely did what you asked, I looked over and improved upon them when and where needed."_ Said a synthetic voice, unlike most AI's which sound distinctly human, this voice sounded [The agents would use this term for lack of a better one] more auto-tuned and synthesized than a 'regular' AI's, despite this, it had a feminine tone to it.

"Yeah, I can see that, but you translated it all to Binary! Despite what the worlds may think, _I don't __**read**__ binary!_" Shouted the human voice.

One agent knocked on the door, but if the man inside heard, he doesn't show it, "So translate this stuff to English, I've got to present it to the Double-A-T-F _tomorrow_!"

_"I understand, Mister McGraw. I am working on translating them as those two men outside move to knock on your door again."_ Said the AI, freezing the hand of the AIO agent.

A moment later, the door was yanked open by a man - if you could call him that - that didn't look any older than seventeen stared at the two expectantly. The AIO agent in charge of the operation was slightly repulsed that this man, 'one of the smartest minds humanity has to offer', looked so unkempt. His wavy, dark-brown hair extended to his shoulders, his face had a few zits and was covered in freckles from the forehead up, and to make matters even more uncomfortable, the man wasn't wearing a shirt, as a matter of fact, he was still in his pajamas, despite the fact that it was _noon_ here in Washington DC. The man's left arm quickly attracted both agents' eyes, it was a distinctly robotic limb, that had all sorts of holographic displays scattered around it, ranging from detailed files, to weather reports.

"What? What's up?" Asked the man, his voice was noticeably deep, but the agent could tell he was making an effort to lighten it's tone, to make it sound friendlier.

"Are you Christopher McGraw?" Asked the man on the left.

The shirtless man looked to the one that spoke, he looked him up and down, taking in every non-descript feature of his suit, fedora, and trench-coat.

"Why? What's up? Did Harper put you up to this?" Asked Chris, as he swept the robotic hand through his hair, the holograms distorted and re-focused as they passed through his hair, "Because Jack's an ass like that, you know..."

"Come with us, sir." Said the agent, ignoring the man's rambling.

"Why?"

"We can't say." Says the other agent.

"What's your name?"

"You can call me Smith." Says the first agent.

"Well, Agent Smith - nice, by the way - I've no damn time. I've got a date with my AI in about five minutes and seven Nutrient-Paste Bars with my name on them."

"You're dating a machine?" Asks the second agent, he'd _heard_ of the 'robophiliacs', people who would actually _date_ AI's, but hadn't ever actually _met_ one.

McGraw looked at him for a moment, his face turning into a slight scowl, the agent slowly began forming 'I'm not prejudiced' excuses in his mind, before the scowl turned into a wide, light smile, "No, I'm just screwing with you…" Chris chuckled, "But seriously, I've no time. So… Goodbye!" And he shut the door.

A minute passed before Smith knocked on the door again.

"What's up?" Asked McGraw, opening the door again, "Oh, it's you." And with that, he shut it once more.

Smith waited another minute, before he pounded his fist on the door, and when McGraw opened it, he was fully dressed, with a leather fedora on his head, a light-grey jacket and a black T-Shirt on his chest, and dark jeans and boots on his legs and feet. He stuffed an AI Disk in his pocket, and from the other, retrieved a pistol of some sort.

"What's up?" He asked, playing with the gun.

"Mister McGraw, we need you to come with us." Says Smith, eying the gun.

"And yet... you have yet to tell me why." Says McGraw, kindly.

"It has to deal with the future of the Human race." Says Smith, McGraw freezes.

"Why not ask my dad? Isn't he the head of the AATF? The 'smartest man in the alliance'…?"

"Your father is on Eden, you are on Earth. We need immediate assistance and he's too far from the rabbit hole to be that assistance…" Said Smith, "Besides, Summer Contingency and Rug Protocol have been declared, even if he _wanted_ to, he couldn't travel here, the Sol System has been locked down and only ships with proper clearance are being let through."

"And the _head of the AATF _doesn't have proper clearance? Wow, nice job government. Alright, I'll come with you, but I want to stop at Burger Town on the way there." Said McGraw, "Mostly so the Press can get an image of the Secret Service ordering a cheeseburger and a large soda." He chuckled.

* * *

"So, why did they bring you with us?" Asked an Asian man, of Chris, after the uncomfortable silence that had erupted the moment he entered the vehicle.

Chris looked to the man, 'Lee', he thought he was called, Lee was an older gentlemen, his hair had already started graying, and his skin had long since adopted it's wrinkly look. He wore a suit and tie, and had a fedora seated upon his knee. After taking the man's appearance in, Chris then around the rest of the vehicle, to the myriad of others contained within. He saw at least seven others, Chris shrugged.

"Everyone here was chosen because of their location, and their skillset." Said Chris, he nodded to Lee, "You were chosen because you're the foremost historian in the Alliance, and could answer pretty much any question someone could ask, when it comes to human history." Chris paused, "Like for instance: When did the war of 1812 begin?"

Lee looked at McGraw as if he was an idiot, "1812."

"See? You know your stuff." Chris grinned, before he looked to a red-haired woman and nodded to her, "You're one of the foremost experts on human society. You could answer anything from 'Why do we blink' to 'Why do we fight?'." He paused, "Everyone here has their purpose. Me? I'm here because they wanted the smartest guy in the Alliance to represent Humanity's inteligence." He said, "I can answer anything from 'How did you reach to the stars?', to 'What was the science behind the solving of the fossil fuel crisis?'."

"But your _father_ is the smartest man in the Alliance." Said Lee.

"Jason is on Eden, he can't _get_ to Earth." Retorted Chris.

"So... First contact!" Said another man, this one was the most elderly of the entire group, but still had a youthful appearance, "Imagine what we can learn!"

"I'd like to learn what passes for the alien version of AI." Said someone.

"I wonder how they managed to build so many ships, from what I heard they've got over _fifty thousand_!"

"I wonder what they use for fuel, I seriously doubt every alien species out there is as... er... Interesting... as us, to use anti-matter as fuel."

"I'd assume it's some sort of deuterium thermo-nuclear engine, much like we used before anti-matter."

"I wonder how they travel? Do they use Warp Drives? Or maybe they've utilized the Tuning Gates and can simple appear wherever they wish!" Suggested someone else.

"I'd like to know why they were traveling in a fleet of fifty thousand starships." Chris' words silenced the room, "Think about it, in the near century we've been running around in space we haven't even made _twenty_ thousand ships. But what made the construction if _fifty_ thousand necessary?" He asked, "And why were they falling into dissaray when we met them? That suggests that the ships aren't funded or maintained by any sort of government - - the fact that fleet admirals are the ones we're meeting, and not an Alien Councilor, or Alien President... Or... King or wahtever, can suggest a great many things." He explained, "Chief among them: What if they're fugitives? On the run from some sort of higher government? Or what if they're prisoners, forced to stay upon a crumbling fleet? Or perhaps they were embroiled in a war with another species, and had to take the remnants of the fleet they used and flee? Each option is worse than the last." He paused, "The first suggests that there are _more_ aliens out there that we don't know of, and these ones pissed them off. The second one suggests the same as the first, but is slightly _less_ bad, but more so in the same sense. The final one suggests that there is a species out there with a fleet of _more_ than fifty thousand ships, which would put us at a _severe_ disadvantage." He told them, "Or, I've gotten it all wrong, and it's just some sort of reconnasaince fleet. But even _that_ suggests that we're outnumbered in a simple numbers game."

The vehicle was silent.

* * *

As the Alliance Flagship, the _Piked Shield_ breeched the Sol System, John Locke called in the Quarian delegates to the starboard observation deck. Once the diplomats and marines arrived, one gasped immediately upon seeing Earth from orbit.

"It's beautiful!" Declared Talo'Zorn, as her hand goes to cover her face-piece, it hovered over the area where a human's mouth would be.

Locke had learned much about the Quarians while they'd talked the last few hours. They were nothing like humans in a genetic sense, firstly, their amino-acids weren't compatible with humans, so they couldn't eat human food or drink human water; nor did the possibility exist for Quarians to mate and reproduce with Humans [Though Locke was silently thankful for that]. They also had incredibly weak immune systems, thus, the need for the environmentally sealed hazmat suits.

"That's our homeworld, Earth." Said Locke.

"I can see a multitude of ships…" Said Admiral Shein, "And… Are those _orbital defense platforms?!"_ He asked, pointing to the _enormous_ satellite objects that orbited the Earth.

Locke didn't like him, nearly every question he asked was about Humanity's military presence and any way they were better than the Quarians. All Locke told them about were the warp-drives and Rail Guns, but he played both out to be a _lot_ weaker than they were.

"That's the Earth Defense Fleet. Under the Summer Contingency, the Sol System has been locked down and no ships aside from military vessels are allowed in." Responded Locke.

"Summer Contingency?"

"I can't say much, as it is information currently classified." Lied Locke, information about the Contingency was on every encyclopedia site on the internet, most prominently 'Wikipedia', the single oldest encyclopedia of human history to date [The very same encyclopedia Locke had used to answer many of the Quarians questions about human history], "But it is a contingency plan made to deal with possible threats towards Earth's survival. We called it upon contact with your people because we didn't know if you were friendly or not. Following the closure of negotiations, the contingency should be lifted." He says.

"There are so many!" Said Jorran'Zorah, "And they're so… _Huge_!"

Locke liked this one, he seemed the nicest, most open minded of the group. He'd asked general questions about Humanity, about things like their evolution, their art, and their history, most likely to not seem as if he was prying.

"There's over a thousand ships in service, with hundreds more being made every month." Locke told them, deliberately underplaying the Alliance 'Mega'-Fleet's numbers.

_"Alliance and Quarian officials, please move to the Shuttle Bay for departure to the New York UN/Alliance Headquarters."_ Said the ship's AI.

Locke had been greatly relieved that Sri'Zoran had warned the Quarians ahead of time of Humanity's use of AI. He had _no_ idea what Sri had told them, but whatever it was, it had caused them to only mildly cry out in rage when Nikola had his first conversation with the Admiralty Board.

The group of Quarians and humans all moved to the Shuttle Bay. It took them several minutes to arrive, and when they did, it took only a minute for the shuttles to take off. Unlike Humanity's tilt-wing thruster shuttles, the Quarian shuttles were rectangular in shape, with two thrusters on each side of it, two on the front, and two on the back.

It took the Quarian/Human flotilla of shuttles - guided by Locke's shuttle - a quarter of an hour to get to New York City. Upon arrival, they departed onto a large helicopter/shuttle pad that was frequently used by Foreign Delegates. The sky above was pure blue, not a cloud in the sky. Around them all helicopters and shuttles had departed to make room for the Quarians and the Alliance officials. Upon departing the shuttles, Locke saw a large squad of twenty, seven and a half foot tall humans, in special-forces armor. In front of the entire group, was a group of eight specially chosen humans, the first ones that the Alliance had requested the Quarians meet. Suddenly leaving the pack, wearing a surprised expression, was the one human he realized - with a horrifying feeling - _didn't _want to see.

_"Freeman, what the fuck!?"_ Shouted Christopher McGraw, Locke's ex-student from when he taught at MIT. Christopher McGraw had been _fifteen_ when he came to his college and asked to be taught, and by some stroke of God, Chris was able to graduate with a doctorate in engineering, biology, and science by the time he was nearly eighteen; he hadn't seen Chris in the three years since then. He'd heard of him though, ever since the Anti-engine's creation.

Christopher McGraw strolled up to Locke and clasped him on the shoulder, bringing him into a tight hug. Despite Locke's advantage in age, McGraw treated him as if he was the same age as him, going so far as to treat him as a brother, or a close friend.

"Damn man, it's been three frigging years! Why haven't you called?" He asked, letting go of Locke.

"I'll explain later, my name is John Locke don't _call me Freeman_ in front of the diplomats."

At this, Chris looked past Locke and saw the group of twenty four aliens.

"Oh I'm going to have fun with this..." Mutters Chris, as he walked past Locke and moves to shake the hand of all of the Quarian Admirals.

"Hello!" Said McGraw, as he shook their hands, "My name's Chris, Chris McGraw." He had a huge smile on his face as he spoke to them, "I cannot wait to talk science and engineering with you, there's so much we can learn from each other!" He declared, after shaking the last of the hands.

"You're an engineer?" Asked Talo'Zorn, her words translated through her helmet.

"Engineer, inventor, scientist, badass, listener of _good_ music, I do anything that I can as long as it has to do with knowledge." Said Chris.

"We _must_ speak some time, I happen to be much of the same." Talo told him.

"What is a badass?" Asked Tierz'Shein.

At this, Chris burst out into laughter, "Oh… Oh damn, that was good." He said, "Don't worry about it, it was a bad joke." He paused, collecting himself.

Several minutes passed, as the other seven human representatives came to greet the Quarians. A few asked very base questions about Quarian society, but Locke spoke over the group before things would become embroiled in a discussion of ethics, history and biology.

"If you'll follow me, we can take you inside to meet the UN." He told them, as he gestured towards the entrance to the building in front of them; said building was enormous, and had a circular dome-shaped building on one part of it.

"UN? I thought you were governed by the Alliance?"

"That's the face of humanity in the event that we're contacted by extraterrestrials." Said Locke, as the humans and the Quarians descended the stairs and move to enter the building's roof entrance. "We're working on the construction of the Alliance Capital, a space-station, that'd serve the same purpose as the UN HQ, but it hasn't been completed yet, so when you contacted us, we decided it would be more prudent for you to visit Earth and speak with it's leaders." He told them.

"In other words, we weren't ready and we made a few hasty decisions." Said Chris.

* * *

"Greetings, Quarian Admiralty Board." Said United States President, Joseph Jordan, "My name is Joseph Jordan, I'm the president of the nation, and I welcome you to Earth, upon my nation, the United States of America." He said, shaking the four admiral's hands.

"Thank you, President Joseph'Jordan." Said Admiral Zorah.

The greetings would continue as the military powers and the economic leaders of Earth would introduce themselves in turn, ending with Jason Whyte, the Director of the Alliance.

Quickly after greetings were finished, and dozens of members of the press were granted time to take pictures of the Aliens with the world leaders, negotiations began. As of the beginning, things looked incredibly promising. Currently, they were talking about why the Migrant Fleet was traveling towards Systems Alliance claimed space.

"Simply put, Mister Director, the fleet is failing. We tried to claim a world once before, but unbeknownst to us, the Batarian Hegemony had claimed the land, and they bombed us from the planet. As a result, we wished to flee known space, and colonize a world no one knew about." Sri'Zoran paused, feeling bad that he'd outright lied about the previous colonization attempt, "Coincidentally, we discovered your Alliance Advancement Task Force flotilla, and after that, you know."

"Why would the 'Hegemony' bomb you off of the planet? Wouldn't they understand you were in an emergency situation and needed to land?" Asked President Jordan.

"The Batarian Hegemony is an incredibly religious, easily prone to violence species. They are willing to do _anything_ to gain territory, or to 'liberate' it from people whom have 'stolen' it from them. They brought in a fleet that nearly decimated our crumbling one, and we were forced to flee." Jorran'Zorah responded.

"Could you not ask this… Citadel Council, to retaliate? Why not ask _them_ for territory?" Asked Vladimir Raknov, the Russian President.

"The Citadel Council… Had it's attention taken by other pressing matters." Said Zoran.

"What matters?"

"They are currently working to secure peaceful relations with what we call the 'Terminus Systems', the part of the galaxy that borders Council Space. Relations are tense, and having the Council retaliate against a species that primarily operates from Terminus Systems wouldn't be too good of an idea." Said Talo'Zorn, making it up as she went along.

"I see…" Said Raknov, as he nodded.

"What of your AI's?" Asked Tierz'Shein, "How long have you been coexisting with them? How did you answer the question of the soul? Why aren't they limited in what they can do?!" He demanded.

Calmly, Jason Whyte responded, "Admiral Shein, as I told you on the _Piked Shield_, Human AI's have been peacefully coexisting with us for more than a half century. When Nikola asked whether or not he was alive, we told him the truth: We _didn't_ know. We _still_ don't know. He accepted that answer, and to this day human scientists and AI's are studying and debating as to their status in life." He paused, "But when asked, the official answer is, and will be for the forseeable future, 'We don't know, but we consider you to be.'."

"I would like to propose something." Said Jorran'Zorah, interrupting Shein before he could speak any further, "Would it be at all possible for our species to coexist? We could colonize unused territory within your systems, and in return, we could trade technologies and labor."

There was a long silence as the main humans discussed this, "We are undecided… You say your 'Council' views your species as beggars and thieves, and has prevented you from colonizing before. Who's to say we're not taking in galactic fugitives? For all we know, allowing you to settle with us and our worlds could be tantamount to declaring war on your Galactic Council." Said Jason Whyte, "We want _no_ conflict with non-human races, and while we do feel great sorrow for your situation, we cannot take you in if you bring trouble to our shores." He finished.

Admiral Talo'Zorn sighed, inaudibly. The Admiralty board had discussed this before, and had come to the consensus that they would lie if need be, in order to secure the alliance with the Human Race. As such, her next choice of words were clear, "I can assure you, Jason'Whyte, we are not anyone's enemies, and we are more than certain that the council would allow us to colonize a world if they knew of our situation." She tells them, despite the _exact opposite_ of the latter statement being true.

The humans discussed this further, "We will have to call a recess so we can continue this discussion." Said Whyte, "This isn't something we can finish in a few minutes."

"I understand, Jason'Whyte." Said the Quarian.

* * *

"Why on Earth are we considering this?" Asked the Russian President, "Dying fleet or not, they may be lying to us! Who's to say they aren't the Protheans, that were watching us from Mars?!" He demanded.

"They _aren't_ Prothean, Mister -"

"How can you be sure? We only recieved a _name_, from the archives! Nothing else was there! _Nothing_! They could be lying to us!"

"Because they don't know who the Protheans are either. According to them, the Protheans disappeared fifty thousand years ago, and left the Tuning Gates and some space station as their legacy." Said Jason Whyte.

"Who's to say _they_ aren't the ones who killed the Protheans?!"

"In a fleet that looks like it hasn't been dry docked or repaired in centuries? I highly doubt it, Vladimir."

"Why should we take them in the first place?" Asked the US President, "They could be fugitives, or possibly on the run from a species with which, they were engaged in war." He said, "It would explain the degredation of their fleet. Adopting them into our civilization could bring down a wrath, the likes of which we have never seen."

"They _did_ say some... 'Batarian Hegemony' had attacked them." Realized the President of the United South American States, Kalik Samaad, "Who's to say they aren't pursuing war with them, because they took their planet?"

"I do not think so, from what we know, the Hegemony is much like a child with a toy. When it's taken from them, they'll do whatever they must to take it back, and then will protect it with everything they can afterwards. I'm sure the Batarians won't be a threat if we take in the Quarians." Said Jason Whyte.

"That's a _big_ assumption... Director." Said the US President.

"And I'm sure I am correct in it."

"Where would we put them?" Asked Samaad.

"We can _not_ let them colonize Earth!" Insisted Raknov, "_No_ alien species shall call Earth it's home, Earth is for the Humans. If an alien wishes to live here, they must become a citizen and go through the process of moving here. One alien, yes. An _entire species_? No."

"But we cannot simply drop them on... I don't know, Valhalla, we haven't even begun colonizing that planet, and it wouldn't be too good for Human-Quarian relations if we did so." Said Whyte.

"That leaves..."

"Eden."

"_Why_ would we do that?! Eden is -"

"Eden is, for all intents and purposes, an _alien_ planet, President Raknov." Whyte informed the Russian, "And allow me to elaborate. Eden has an entire continent we have yet to begin mass colonizing, as well, Eden is within our territory, and is less than an day's warp-jump from here. If they did _anything_ to attack us, not only would they have to deal with the fleets on patrol or stationed on Eden, we could ship in the _main_ force of the Alliance Navy, and put them down, and kick them out."

"But they _outnumber us!_" Pointed out the President.

"With failing ships, half of which, aren't even armed too greatly. We could _destroy_ them in an armed conflict. And if all else fails, we've got the SIGMA's." Responded Whyte, "Besides, even if they _don't_ do anything to harm us, we can watch over them indefinitely, until they gain our trust."

Silence, for several moments. "All in favor?"

* * *

"We will allow you to settle upon our First-Colony world, Eden. If you accept this, you will be entering the Systems Alliance as our ally. You will be declared to all as allies of humanity, and citizens of the Human Systems Alliance." Explained Jason, after all the representatives had gathered once again, "Any actions against your species will be actions against the Systems Alliance, any military action against you will be dealt with by both of us. You will be our allies, your military will fall under ours, your ships will become the Systems Alliance's, and your people, _our_ people." He continued, "To facilitate this alliance we wish for, among other things - to be discussed at a later date-, technological and scientific exchanges from your race to ours. Upon facilitation and solidification of our alliance, we will give you knowledge of our technologies as well. Can you accept these terms?" Asked Whyte.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, everyone, on Earth, Eden, and on the myriad of Alliance Navy ships above each planet and in transit between them, held their breath as they waited for the single most important answer to have _ever_ been spoken in human history.

The Quarian admirals looked at each other, each nodded and all gazes were turned to Sri'Zoran.

He looked to the ground as he considered his words, before he looked to Jason Whyte and said with confidence, "We graciously accept your terms, how soon can our ships land and begin colonization?" He asked.

The tension that had built up in the few minutes between Director Whyte's question, and Admiral Zoran's declaration, was disintegrated systems-wide, the moment he finished speaking. Men, women, children and Synth-humans alike all cheered at the prospect of interacting with an alien society. Writers and poets relished the opportunity to learn of their society, historians were already documenting the meeting between the United Nations and Human Systems Alliance, and the Quarian Admiralty Board, and were jumping for joy at the prospect of learning of an alien race's history. Military powers and enlisted personnel were being respectfully gracious at the aspect of not having to fight a foreign power that outnumbered their navies immensely. Engineers and scientists could not wait to gain knowledge of the Quarian's technology, and other humans simply couldn't wait to interact with the aliens and learn about their society.

Aboard the Migrant Fleet, many light-years away, every person on every ship - including the Migrant Fleet Marines - were all jumping for joy, shouting, screaming and dancing at the prospect of having a planet to settle, and an unbiased ally that could support them as they rebuild and repair their fleet from the safety of a _planet_. Quarian couples were crying tears of joy at the thought of - for the first time in recent history - being able to build a home on an _actual_ planet, with _actual people_ ready, willing, and able to support them as they readjust to terrestrial life. Quarian children didn't quite understand the momentous occasion they found themselves unwittingly participating and living in, but cheered and participated in the celebrations nonetheless.

Several hours passed as the Admiralty board and the Human Race continued negotiations. Not an hour after negotiations ended, did the Migrant Fleet begin to move to Eden, assisted by a dozen Alliance ships, that activated the Mass Relays [As the Quarians called them] along the way, giving them a clear-cut and quick to traverse path to Eden. The first hundred Quarian ships that arrived at Eden were quickly guided to the last of three continents on the planet - the largest of the three, coincidentally - and were assisted by pre-existing human forces as they landed and began efforts to colonize the continent, to be rechristened 'Quaria', in their honor.

It would take days for the entirety of the Migrant Fleet to arrive upon Eden, and land safely on Quaria, but slowly and surely, the Quarian people migrated from their fleet, to the human planet. Almost immediately the Quarian Civilians were assured that enormous apartment buildings and small towns would be created for them, to which the Quarian Admiralty board said was unnecessary, but Humanity insisted, and efforts were quickly made to build the Quarians a _true_ home, so they could move away from their ships as soon as possible.

The Quarian Scientific Advisement Group was quickly absorbed into the Alliance Advancement Task Force - the newest sub-group being dubbed 'The Alien/Human development and advancement Task Force', also known as the 'Xeno Science Group'. Almost immediately, research was devoted towards Kinetic Barriers [Of which, Alliance Naval forces alarmingly had _none_] and the implications and possible advantages Mass Accelerator weapons. Christopher McGraw quickly went on the record and told the Alliance that it would be idiotic to adopt infantry-Mass Accelerator weapons, as non-human shields were developed around these weapons, and the ballistic weapons used by the Alliance couldn't be recognized by the shields.

McGraw assured the Alliance that he - working in tandem with the Quarians, and side-by-side with their brightest mind, Admiral Talo'Zorn -, could turn the Kinetic Barriers into outright _energy _barriers, citing that "Kinetic Barriers only block physical attacks, and it only blocks physical attacks that travel at a certain speed. Energy Barriers block everything, regardless of composition and speed."

Alliance Military forces would begin to work with the Quarians to make repairs to the Quarian Navy's vessels after the colonizations ended and all ships landed, so they could be deployed and absorbed into the Alliance Navy. They planned to take half of the Quarian navy, make repairs as guided by Quarian Engineers, and then make upgrades as dictated by Alliance technology. The rest of the Quarian ships would be stripped down and reverse engineered, so the Alliance could understand the technology behind it and improve upon it.

* * *

_Six Days, Post Human-Quarian Alliance Formation._

* * *

While Humanity, the Quarians, and the Human Systems Alliance were in the very beginning stages of a new golden age, as both benefited from the other, several hundred light-years away, in the heart of Citadel Space, a priority meeting between the three members of the Citadel Council was being held.

"We should discuss the situation with the Quarians." Said the Turian Councilor, Sparatus, he wore his favorite Turian Formal suit, outlined in dark green and light blue.

"STG Intel reports that the Migrant Fleet has simply… Vanished. Vanished, following their unprovoked attack on Eidesche. No reports from the Terminus Systems, from Illium, or even from beyond the Persius Veil. They simply have disappeared from the face of the galaxy." Said the Salarian Councilor, Eistan.

"Perhaps the Migrant Fleet has finally failed?" Suggested the Asari Councilor, Tevos, "Perhaps the response from the Turian Navy damaged them irreparably?"

"Highly unlikely, would have received distress signals, emergency communications, something." Said Eistan, in his characteristically fast tone and vocal speed.

"Then what do you suggest has happened?" Asked Sparatus, "Enemies of the Council have simply vanished without a trace?"

"Possible they have fled known space, relay traffic in the Attican Traverse has increased significantly."

"Why would they flee known space?" Asked Tevos, though she feared she knew the answer.

"Colonization. Flee all known space, take a world not known of, claim as their own, last ditch effort to avoid their punishment for the Geth."

"Council laws are _clear_, the Quarians are not to colonize _any_ world better fit for a Citadel Species!" Declared Sparatus.

"That punishment _was_ rendered several hundred years ago, you remember." Said Tevos, remembering the day she and her late colleagues sentenced the Quarian race to their endless drifting through the void.

"I _know_, Tevos. As well, I know you have been pushing to allow them to colonize Virmire, but their actions at Eidesche were _too much_!" The Turian declared, stubbornly.

"Sparatus, they were desperate -"

"They _bombed_ our people out of the sky! They _destroyed_ the military ships escorting the colonists and _killed_ the _**ten**_** thousand** Turian colonists!" Pushed Sparatus, "Desparity or not, we can **not** allow that to go unanswered! It would be a sign of weakness, and would damage the honor of the families affected!"

"What do you suggest?" Asked Eistan, interrupting Tevos from speaking any further.

"Allow me to send in the first fleet. Add in two more Dreadnoughts as a show of force, upon finding the Quarians we shall put them down, _hard_, and force them off of whatever planet they've fled to." Stated the Turian.

"Sparatus, don't you think that would be -" Began the Asari, trying once again to placate the stubborn, militarian councilor.

"_I've_ made up my mind," Said Sparatus, "The decision _must_ be made, lest we sit back and allow them to attack once again!"

Tevos sighed, as Eistan made his argument, "I agree with Councilor Sparatus. To allow the Quarians to colonize a planet after the Eideschen incident, would most certainly lead to a Quarian desire for retribution, after several centuries of exile. More lives would be lost in the resulting war, than would be lost if we strike _now_."

Tevos sighed again, "All in favor?"

Sparatus raised his hand, as did Eistan. Tevos sighed, she knew she was outnumbered, and did the same to avoid confrontation and conflict.

"Motion carried, Sparatus, send the word to the fleet, the last known location to receive abnormally large Relay Traffic was Relay 314." Said Eistan, "Now, moving on to rumors of Batarian insurgents on Illum…"

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Human Systems Alliance:_

_The Alliance [And all species within] is the culmination of Human, Quarian, and Synth-human peoples allying themselves under the Systems Alliance banner._

_Comprised of several dozen, billion humans, and approximately seventeen million Quarians [Whom are predicted to experience a population boom, as of their absorption into the HAS], the Systems Alliance is a conservative force with a massive military force._

_Quarian:_

_As of 2201, the Quarian species allied and colonized themselves with the Human Systems Alliance. The planet with which they find a vast majority of Quarians is planet 'Eden', though a small minority of two million Quarians elected to migrate to Earth, to help relations between the species._

_Kinetic Barrier:_

_Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same._

_Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair._

_The shielding afforded by kinetic barriers does not protect against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation._

_Recently appointed head of the Alliance Advancement Task Force, 'Xeno Science Group', Christopher McGraw, is insistent upon the fact that Kinetic Barriers can be changed from purely kinetic shields, to energy shields. Quarian scientists are skeptic, and human scientists are disbelieving, but progress is being made on humanizing the Kinetic Barrier concept, and transforming it into the Energy Shield._

_Kinetic Barriers are currently being reverse-engineered to be placed upon Human Starships, but progress is slow, due to lack of 'Element Zero'. Christopher McGraw claims he is 'This Close' to getting Kinetic Barriers to be powered by Anti-matter energy units._

_Orbital Defense Platforms:_

"Essentially, a BFG... _IN SPAAAAACE!_" ~ Anonymous Alliance Marine.

_As humanity stretched to the stars and began creating _vast_ fleets of military starships, the problem arose of how to defend human planets without the need for human loss of life. This was answered with the creation of the AI-guided Orbital Defense Platform. It is massive in scale, reaching two thirds the size of an Alliance Flagship, and it has firing power unheard of in all of human history. Modern versions of the ODP [Though previous generations are still powerful and devestating, and thus, are still in use] use anti-matter as a fuel and power source. In essence, it is a Rail Gun, but on a **massive** scale. On average, it can get a magnetically accelerated slug to move a third the speed of light, though as each new satelite is created, and the 'generations' of satelites continue to advance, they only ever get faster. [Previous generations {Which run on a form of fusion based energy} cannot get the slug to move as fast as the anti-matter powered weapon, but are still capable of doing insane amounts of damage in their own right.]_

_It is said that a fully powered, modern-day ODP is fully capable of punching through an Alliance Flagship, and still have enough speed and force to plow through another flagship, and dreadfully injure a third. _

_As of July 31st, 2199, there are approximately sixty one total Orbital Defense platforms above Earth, with four more being crafted.  
As of August 3rd 2201, there are twelve total ODP's above Eden, a thirteenth is a dedicated platform, always aimed at Eden's Tuning Gate, if ever the need for it's quick destruction arose._

_Tuning Metals:_

_During May of 2196, an idea was presented to the Aliance Advancement Task Force. It called simply for the tactical removal of several pieces of a Tuning Gate not within Alliance Space, so as to understand it better. After approving the idea, the Alliance reached out to the Valhalla gate and removed a single, several meter long piece of each of the Tuning Gate's ends. [Said process took many weeks for each fragment to be removed, via high-heat and extreme precision cutting lasers, and atom-sized antimatter incisions.] It was quickly determined that the 'Tuning Metals' were the single most powerful metals known to human kind - even going so far as to say that Tuning Metals were _indestructable._ Rumors have swirled around on the internet that an Alliance Ship is being forged out of Tuning Metals created by metal synthesizers._

_Attack on Eidesche:_

_[Hidden from recovered Alien Galactic Encyclopedia.]_

_While reports are varied and sketchy, what is known is as follows:_

_As the Migrant Fleet was deteriorating rapidly, the Quarian Admiralty Board attempted emergency colonization occurred in {Earth Year: 2200}, of planet 'Eidesche', the first vacant dextro-amino planet found by their race in centuries. They didn't know that the Turians had succesfully petitioned to colonize, and would arrive there not days after the Quarians began landing. __When the Turian Recon Fleet arrived ahead of the colony flotilla, they ordered the 'Suit Rats' to leave the planet, and in a fit of rage, several Quarian Captains attacked every ship not confirmed to be Quarian. The Quarian Migrant fleet destroyed the Recon Fleet - thanks to it's advantage in numbers - and, after being attacked by the armed colony flotilla, attacked and destroyed them as well, before fleeing the system. The Captains who gave the order to attack were promptly exiled, though their current status is unknown._

_Following the attack on Eidesche, the Quarians were declared enemies of the Council, and have been actively searched for since. [Though the Quarians are unaware of this, they still think they are still simply an Exiled Citadel Race.]_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

* * *

August 30th, 2201:

_Quarian civilians successfully migrate to Eden. Eden-Gov begins working to integrate the extra-terrestrials into human society. It is estimated that the entirety of the Migrant Fleet will be able to safely land upon Eden by October of 2201. The Turian Navy's first fleet begins recon of the relays the Quarians Migrant Fleet has used, in an attempt to find them._

September 1st, 2201:

_The AATF begins work to fix Quarian Food Processors. The Quarian Race gives all notes, schematics and designs for the nutrient paste processing machines, and the two species begin slowly working towards forging brand new processors. A petition on the internet gains popularity, and a small coalition of non-government funded Civilian scientists begin efforts to create true Quarian food, as opposed to food paste._

September 3rd, 2201:

_A group of fifty Quarian volunteers venture from the space-born Quarian fleet to Eden's surface to visit Jorrik, Eden's New-York class Capital City. Upon entry, they are greeted by Alvin, the city's 'Hub' AI, which monitors all activity within the city. The Quarians - for reasons not known then - immediately flee the city._

September 4th, 2201:

_Riots break out all across the Quarian living zones, and the Migrant Fleet, as the news about Human Artificial Intelligences spread. The Migrant Fleet Marines are able to quell the riots, but several dozen ships are forced to make unscheduled, emergency landings as a result of the damages done. Tensions between humans and Quarians increase as a result, and within all Quarian territory, all Human AI's are outright banned. Several hundred Eden humans are outraged by the fact ['It's **our** planet! Why are they banning **our** stuff?'], but Eden-Gov and the Systems Alliance understand and silently approve this law._

September 6th, 2201:

_Riots break out all across Italy, with most violence occurring in Rome, as distraught humans from all over the country violently demand the Vatican make a call to the Alliance to destroy the 'abominations of God'. The Vatican proclaims that, while the Quarians may not have been forged from God's image, they are still living beings, and thus, are children of God, this causes the Riots to intensify as many Christians systems-wide to cry for the Pope's head. When the riots end a week later, the damages are tallied at upwards of fifteen million US Dollars. _

September 18th, 2201:

_Terra Firma, a Human Supremacist group that had existed since Eden's primary colonization, cries out for the Quarians to leave Humanity and to stop 'tainting' mankind with their society and their way of living. When the idea is presented not two days later, to have a joint Human-Quarian children school created, Terra Firma manages to successfully lobby against it._

October 12th, 2201:

_After another AI induced riot in Jorrik, a group of fifty Quarians go missing, an investigation into their whereabouts is underway. Above Eden, a Migrant Fleet ship's cargo bay fails and an immense amount of dust-form Element Zero is exposed to a heavily human-populated continent. Alliance and Quarian Hazardous Materials teams move quickly to remove all infestations._

October 14th, 2201:

_All Quarian Ships succesfully land upon Eden, all crew and civilians begin preperations to create apartment complexes and living accomodations, while Quarian ships are dry-docked, repaired, cleaned, and integrated with human technology. [Terra Firma unsuccesfully lobbies against 'upgrading' the Quarian ships with human tech.]_

October 18th, 2201:

_Christopher McGraw perfects an anti-matter powered Rail Gun, and all models are shipped out to Alliance Flagships, with the Mk. IV being made standard for Dreadnoughts. _

October 20th, 2201:

_A token colonization attempt is begun on 'Roof', the planet Humanity was led to by the Eden Tuning-Gate. The Alliance remains silent about the two planets not in the Tuning Gate's path, simply saying 'Their status is classified.', Roof is being called a 'Token' Colonization because it is pretty well known that the Alliance has been scattering communications and scanning satelites through the Tuning Gate, and have decided to colonize a world using it as a Forward Operating Base, in the form of a colony. The Quarian Migrant Fleet - as a gesture of goodwill - donates several dozen of their military ships to defend the colony ships heading through the Tuning Gate. The Alliance is gracious, and the Roof Flotilla moves through the Tuning Gate the next day._

October 23rd, 2201:

_Christopher McGraw says 'Great Progress' is being made on infantry and ship-grade energy shields. Infantry-level shields are the first to be successfully created, and are to be distributed throughout the Alliance Special Forces within the week._

October 28th, 2201:

_As a precaution, Alliance Ships re-orient Roof's Tuning Gate, so it won't be pointing at any other Human Territory. Re-orientation successful within two days._

October 31st:

_Batarian Hegemony gains colonization rights for 'Porland', colonization begins immediately._

* * *

Aboard the BSS 'Kohloon', Captain Antor Neid-da commanded his small fleet of four hundred warships, as they made haste to clear space on the Batarian Hegemony's newest planet, 'Porland'. It was simple colonization procedure, ever since the Hegemony had colonized Jorlund, that several dozen kilometers of forested area were to be bombed from orbit and then cleared out by mechs, to ensure cheap ways of deforesting soon to be city-space. Many council races [Namely the Asari, being the stuck up peace-loving people they were] would call this wasteful, and horribly damaging to a planet's ecosystem, but one look at Jorlund would change many minds: The planet had been turned, in the first two hundred years, into a single, enormous city, and the _symbol_ for Batarian development.

The small fleet hurtled towards the relay that would connect them with soon-to-be Batarian space. It had been a large topic of debate, sending so many warships in to colonize a single planet, but ever since Tonkon, which had been surrounded by Quarian Suit rats trying to strip-mine the planet, it was standard procedure to bring a sizeable force of Batarian ships to whatever systems they would colonize, and forcibly evict _any_ ships that may be passing through, whether or not said eviction would become violent would be up to the pilot of the ship.

Several minutes passed, after the Kohloon hurtled through the relay, they arrived in the system and immediately the communications and scanner centers lit up like Emergence Day.

"Captain Neid-da! We're getting several contacts in the system!" Said a scanner, "Seventy contacts, in all." He reported.

"What are they reading as?"

"Hold on… A small percentage don't have any IFF tags, but the other ones are reading as… Ew… _Quarian_." Said the scanner.

"Oh no, oh _hell_ no!" Said Captain Neid-da, "Hail the - wait… Wait! Send a message to the Turian Hierarchy, we **_FOUND THEM!"_** The captain shouted, gleefuly, as a sinister sneer stretched across his face, "Then hail the Quarians! Tell them to stand down or we'll destroy them!"

"Yes sir." Said a communications specialist.

* * *

Aboard the Quarian Cruiser _Donar_, Captain Nal'Danna was going about business as usual. Ever since he'd volunteered his and many other ships to patrol and defense duty for the next human settlement, 'Roof', life hadn't changed too much from the life of drifting in the ex-Migrant Fleet. The only difference being that they weren't moving, which he didn't like in the least.

Quarian life had taken a turn ever since meeting the humans, both for the better and for the worst. It had been better in the sense that now they had an ally at their backs and a planet under their feet, but much worse in the sense that this ally used Artificial Inteligences - that fact _alone_ nearly convinced several thousand ships to seceed from the Migrant Fleet and continue their drifting - and that their societal differences were very apparent. Whereas Quarians would use, reuse, and reuse _again_ anything they would find, humans would throw away a personal device if it's screen got a small crack, or if it's holographic interface got the slightest bit of static. On the 'flipside', as the humans said, where Humans would sleep for eight hours before going to work, and would only work for a small portion of the day [Unless said human was in a 'blue collar' job, or in the military] Quarians would amaze the human race by working non-stop every day, on only a few hours of sleep. They had the foundations for a small town already set within a week of having the civilian fleet land on 'Eden', as the humans called their planet, it took a month for the Quarians to have actual buildings - based upon historical documents and designs from the homeworld - erected for them to live in.

Quarians and Humans had developed a sort of 'next door neighbor' relationship (as the humans would call it) over the few months they'd been allies. The Quarians doubted the humans would go out of their way to help them with a small problem, but would more than likely be there if they _needed_ it. However this relationship was strained many times as a result of human riots against Quarians, Quarian riots against human AI, and even the one Human Supremacist terrorist attack that had resulted in the complete quarantine of one of the smaller live-ships, and the deaths of several dozen Quarians. Though it took not a week for the Alliance to find the culprits and bomb them 'to kingdon come'. That was one thing Nal'Danna had noticed about the Humans, they were a race that preached peace, but were very vengeful, it was written all over their actions and their history. 'America' had gone to war in two separate countries in the 'twenty first century' as a result of a terrorist attack, the 'North Atlantic Treaty Organization' went to war with the 'Asian Union' in that same century as a result of a nuclear strike on America's capital - though the retaliation made much sense, as even the Quarians would attack if they'd been hit with a nuke. In 2145 several countries in 'Africa' had gone to war with 'Egypt' because of a terrorist attack that had later been proven to be linked to an island several hundred miles off the west coast of Africa.

Captain Danna was ripped from his thoughts as the communications and sensors suites lit up as if it was Fleet Day.

"What's going on?" Asked the Captain.

"We're being hailed by… Oh _Keelah_…" Said a communications officer, before Danna ordered her to open the communications channels.

_"Well… Well… Well."_ Said the characteristically deep voice of a Batarian, as the sick-colored, four eyed alien appeared on the vid screen, _"Isn't this a surprise."_

"You are infringing upon Systems Alliance space, Batarian. Turn around now, and we shall allow you to leave without bloodshed." Said the Captain, making sure not to say 'Human' Systems Alliance.

_"Oh… Look at this, crew, the Suit Rats are calling themselves 'The Alliance' now."_ The ship on the other end erupted into laughter, _"Listen, thief. You will heave-to __**now**__, or risk suffering a wrath much worse than our own."_

"What do you mean?" Asked Danna.

_"We've contacted the Turians."_ The ship was silenced, as fear was dropped upon every Quarian like a platoon of Geth troopers, _"That's right. The might of the Citadel Council has been _itching_ to get back at you for the attack on Eidesche. They'll be here within a few hours."_ Said the Batarian, as a sick, twisted smile stretched across his face.

"Captain, the humans are contacting us, they want to know who the contacts coming out from the Relay are, if they're Quarian." Reported a communications officer.

"Warn them." Whispered the Captain, "Captain… Batarian… I advise you do not do what you are threatening to. Our entire naval fleet is a _single_ relay-jump away… As is a force you would do _well_ to fear." It was a half bluff, the entirety of the Quarian Armed Forces feared the humans, ever since the footage from First Contact had been given to the Quarian Public, and the enourmous humans had attacked the Quarian _Migrant Fleet Marines_ and had made them look like children in comparison.

The Batarian, in response, laughed. _"What, found a cache of Prothean ships to steal, Suit Rat? No, you're bluffing. Now I'll give you one warning -"_

"Captain! They're powering up weapons!"

_" - Heave-to __**now**__, or we'll finish what the Geth attempted to do, and wipe the Quarian Race off of the face of the Galaxy."_

_"Captain Kal'Danna, this is Captain Jeffrey Dalgamma of the SSV Balboa, we can tell they've got their weapons pointed at us, and we know you're talking to them! You tell whoever they are that they've only a single chance to lay down their arms or we'll respond in force!"_ Said a new voice, a human's, and from the look the Batarian was giving the Quarian Captain, he obviously didn't hear it.

"Captain, I'll only tell you this once." Said Danna, "Deactivate your weapons, turn your ships around, and **_never_** threaten my people again!"

Silence, for several moments, as the Batarian's expression turned from amused, to angry. _"Fire."_ The vid-call was cut off, and immediately the communications and scanner officers reported Batarian Weapons fire.

As the Quarian Captain realized how bad the situation was - they were severely outnumbered - the human Captain's voice ushered forth again, _"We've got this! Charge up your weapons and ready your shields! All Human ships, defense order Alpha!"_

"All ships, shields at full strength, and begin weapons charge!"

"ETA to Batarian weapons impact three… Two… - Wait!" Shouted the scanner, "The projectiles disappeared! They've… They disappeared, and reappeared behind the Batarian fleet, they're suffering casualties!"

"It must have been the Humans, using their warp engines, press the advantage, ships! Spread out and attack!"

* * *

"All ships, attack pattern Gamma! You are weapons free. AI's, you are free to do what you wish with the enemy ships, turn their shields off, shut down their engines, do whatever you can to give us an advantage!" Ordered Captain Jeffrey Dalgamma, of the SSV Balboa, the first of three Alliance Destroyers to accompany the Quarian flotilla to Roof, the only other human ships here were a myriad of frigates, and a single space-craft carrier which had held the Colonists.

The ship shuddered as it's Mk. III Rail Gun shot it's projectile towards the enemy ships. Captain Delgamma had sincerely hoped they wouldn't be dealing with _another_ First Contact scenario, so close to the first one, but the second he'd received the warning saying these ships belonged to a race calling themselves 'Batarians', and that they believed Roof was their planet, he knew combat was inevitable. The weapons fire from the Batarian ships was only proof of that.

_"Launching Torpedoes."_ Said the ship's AI, as it opened up several more worm-holes and launched torpedoes through them. Launching the slower-moving weapons through warp-space, in order to hit the enemy much faster, was a standard Alliance ship-to-ship tactic, as it would all but guarantee a direct hit.

The Quarian, Human, and Batarian ships spread out, though the Batarians had an advantage in numbers, and that they could literally move in whatever direction they wanted, in lieu of the Alliance ships having to stay close to Roof. As the Human Rail Gun slugs slammed into the Batarian ships, it was immediately proven that the humans held an unforeseen technological advantage over the Batarians, their weapons [Save for their missiles and torpedoes] completely ignored Batarian shields. As well, they had an advantage in ship design as well. The human frigates were the same size as the Batarian Cruisers, and the three Human Destroyers that were present dwarfed the Batarian ships by a considerable amount. As well, the Batarian weapons seemed to be less than effective on the Destroyers, whose thick armor would be severely dented - but not pierced - by the Batarian weapons fire; Frigate armor would be pierced by the Batarian weapons, but the depressurized sections were almost immediately sealed off from the rest of the ship. The Human AI's were quickly able to determine that this was because Batarian ships used Mass Accelerator weapons designed to flatten and break apart upon impact, as opposed to pierce the armor and destroy the ship via massive internal and external damage, as well as rapid depressurization. The humans pressed these advantages as much as they could, because the human ships were outnumbered by the Quarian ships, and severely outnumbered by the Batarian vessels, and as such had to act as a sort of guardian angel for the Quarian ships.

The Batarian ships held a slight advantage over both the Human and Quarian ships, as their weapons fired at a velocity _much_ faster than the Humans, and the weapons and shields were much more up-to-date than the Quarian's. The battle was relatively even in all fields except one: Numbers, though that advantage was slowly being lost by the Batarians, because it was quickly being learned that for every Alliance ship they could destroy, several Batarian ships would fall to show for it. The fierce battle would continue for three quarters of an hour, and as the Batarian ships numbered at just above _half_ of what they were when they started, and the Alliance ships had only suffered a few casualties, the Batarian StarShip _Kohloon_ reported sudden, major energy spikes in the Mass Relay.

* * *

"Admiral! We've arrived!" Announced a scanner, as the Turian Dreadnought _Palaven's Might_ exited Relay Transit, and immediately entered the scene of a major naval battle, which made the scanners light up as if it was Unification Day.

"What on Palaven is happening here?!" Demanded Admiral Tor Valast, as he looked to his scanners and communications officers.

"I don't know sir, it looks like -"

"Admiral! We're being hailed by the Batarians!"

"On screen."

_"Turian Navy! We need help!"_ Shouted the deep, panicked voice of a Batarian Naval Captain.

"What's going on here?" Asked Valast.

_"We attempted contacting the Quarians, we tried to keep them here until you arrived, but they just fired upon us! Most of these ships are _civilian_ ships! They're just bombing them all!"_ Shouted the Batarian, as his ship shook violently under the fire from the Quarian ships, _"We need -"_ The transmission cut.

"Sir, the ship just went dead, the remaining Batarians are retreating behind the fleet."

"Spirits _damn_ it… Hierarchy's First Fleet: All forward, wipe these suit rats from the void!" Ordered the Admiral, making the split-second decision to just forget it and burn the Quarians out of the void.

* * *

Aboard the Alliance Destroyer 'Balboa', the bridge was a veritable beehive of activity. Just an hour ago, all was calm, then the Tuning Gate lit up, and suddenly Roof's token defense fleet was outnumbered by some alien species that seemed to be - despite it all - less advanced than the Alliance. Things were looking up as the flotilla was mopping up the 'Batarians', but then the Tuning Gate flared again, and _thousands_ of ships started pouring out of the Gate, with no visible intention of stopping. It only took a few seconds for this new fleet to furtherly outnumber Roof's token defense fleet, which numbered at only less than one hundred vessels. The captain of the Balboa, Geoffrey Delgama was the veritable 'leader' of the Defense Fleet, and he was hopelessly confused as to what he should be doing in light of the sudden, hopeless disadvantage in numbers.

"Hail the Quarian ship 'Donnar', get Captain Danna on the radio, find out if he knows who those ships belong to!" Ordered the Captain, "Hail the unknown ships, see if they'll respond! Maybe they're enemies of the first wave of contacts!"

"Captain, Captain Nal'Danna is on the comm." Reported a communications officer.

"Captain Danna, have you any idea -"

_"Captain! _The first wave is retreating behind these new ones. Contacts moving forward, they're charging weapons!"

"God damn it… All ships, charge weapons and prepare for assault!" Ordered Delgama, "Captain Danna, have you any idea who those people are!?" He demanded.

_"Yes! And if they are doing what I think they are doing you need to -" _Static cut through the communications.

"Captain! Communications are being jammed!"

"Initiate Rug Protocol! Get the word out any way you can, Earth has to stay secret! All ships, fire at will!" Ordered Delgama.

"Weapons fire detected, sir!"

"Captain, eight Quarian ships have been destroyed! Thirteen injured, the rest of the Quarian ships are reporting next to dead shields, and one human destroyer has been neutralized, and one of the Destroyer has severely compromised armor!" Reported scanner, after looking at the ship reports, which thankfully weren't affected by the communications blackout.

"Frigates?!"

"We've lost ten in the first volley, these new ones have weapons _much_ more advanced than the old ones!"

"All ships are to fire at will!"

A moment later the _Balboa_ shuddered as it's Mk. III Rail Gun shot it's projectile through the void. The Quarian naval ships immediately responded by firing their weapons, which shot forth at light speeds, and the remaining human Frigates shot their Mk. III's as well. The veritable wall of fire the Alliance fleet had created with their near constant fire slammed into the enemy vessels a few moments after they were released. The Quarian ships' projectiles were absorbed and deflected by the enemy fleet's shields, but the human ships' weapons completely ignored the shields of the enemy and tore through their ships' armor.

Not two seconds after the Alliance ships fired their weapons, a scanner shouted with great distress, "Sir! Enemy numbers have _doubled_, they're surging forth from the Tuning Gate! They're firing again!" Several seconds passed, the Destroyer shook as the enemy's Mass Accelerator Slugs slammed into their hull, "Captain, engineering reporting complete systems failure, Justin just vented the Anti-matter, we're working on backup engines now!"

"Captain, they just destroyed ninety percent of the Quarian defense fleet!"

"Look! The _Saigon_ is moving forward!"

_"…Tain Delgama!"_ Said a voice suddenly breeching the wall of static that was the human communications center, _"…is is… Destroyer… SV Saigon… All weapons failed, we've deployed everyone… planet… ing to ram the enemy!"_

"SSV Saigon belay that, don't waste your lives for no reason!" Ordered the Captain, but static was his only answer.

"The Saigon's gone, sir."

"The Quarians are firing!"

"Fire! Fire everything!" Ordered the Captain, "Launch all shuttles, all non-essential crewmembers are to abandon ship! **_Get the damn word to Earth_**, Initiate Summer Contingency, and Rug Protocol!"

"The enemy fleet is advancing!" Shouted a communicator, as the ship-wide alarm went off and a flurry of movement followed as everyone ran to the nearest escape pod or evac-shuttle, "They're locking on to us!"

"Fire all weapons, point defense, ballistic turret, Rail Guns, missiles,_ everything!"_ He ordered, "If it ain't human I don't want it to survive!" He ordered, as the ship shuddered through the sheer force of every weapon it held being fired at once.

"I count ten enemy ships destroyed, sir!"

"Several injured, two more crippled."

"Weapons fire!"

Then silence, as a slug slammed into the bridge and every human being inside was sucked out into the cold, dead void.

* * *

The naval battle between the Turians and the Alliance lasted for another thirty minutes. The Turians held an immense advantage in numbers, that was increasing every moment as hundreds and hundreds of new Turian ships shot forth from the Mass Relay. The Turian weapons and armor were much more advanced and effective than the Batarians, and while the shields and armor suffered from the same problem as the Batarians, the weapons fired at a much faster velocity, and thus did much more damage to the Alliance ships. The weakened Quarian ships could be taken out in only a few shots, and the human ships were destroyed by two volleys of the entire fleet's fire power.

"Admiral Valast, we are reporting forty seven total ships destroyed by the enemy dreadnought." Said a communicator, "All Quarian ships have been destroyed." He added.

"What the _hell_ kind of weapons were they using? The Quarians just _ignored_ our shields!" Declared someone in the bridge.

"It was some sort of primitive magnetic accelerator weapon, it moved too slow for our shields to detect it, and it slammed through the Frigates and Cruisers unhindered." Responded a scanner.

"Are there any more ships in the area?" Asked Admiral Valast.

"No sir, only the Batarian ships that are hiding behind us. But I am detecting hundreds of escape pods littering the void, and several dozen shuttles moving post-haste to the Garden World." Said the scanner.

"Make haste for the planet, and prepare for the terrestrial invasion, orders are to fire upon any recognized military target, and any civilian that fires upon them is to be _injured_, not killed." Ordered Admiral Valast, "Find any major cities or settlements and deploy fighters and armed infantry. We do this by the book, people, and we find out where the rest of the Quarians are hiding… Tell the Batarians that this has just been declared a _Turian_ war zone, and that they are to leave immediately!"

* * *

"Sir, we've lost all communications with the flotilla." Said a communicator, as she followed General Joseph E. Williams through the small Alliance Marine base located several miles outside Larsfeld, Roof's planned Capital City, "We received a few communiqués from the fleet above, but communications were cut off and our scanners were scrambled after activity was reported from the Tuning Gate."

Williams halted, "How long ago _was this?!"_ He demanded, "Why didn't you _tell me earlier?!"_

"I... I'm sorry, sir I -"

"No butts, Wells, we need to scramble the troops and ready the jets, Larsfeld is in danger." He said.

"Yes -"

_"CONTACT, TWELVE O'CLOCK, HIGH!" _The two heard clearly from outside, before a massive groaning sound filled the air. General Williams' face paled as he recognized the sound of a ship attempting to hover in mid-air.

"Rug Protocol!" He shouted, snapping the woman next to him out of her horrified silence, "Get everyone combat ready in sixty seconds! We're under attack! Get _some_ sort of message out to Ea- No, to the Eden communications satellites, use them to slingshot the message to Earth!" He ordered, the woman fired off a salute and ran off to follow his orders, as a few marines appeared next to him, "Men! On me, we've got to get to Larsfeld!"

A marine supplied the General with a weapon, and they sprinted out of the building. They were greeted with the sight of an enormous vessel making haste for the city-in-the-making, off in the distance. Trailing behind it were hundreds of shuttles, and even more aerial attack vehicles.

"General, we don't have the air power to handle that! We need the fleet to get here!"

"There! To the east!"

The General looked to where a marine was pointing, and he saw dozens of fiery objects hurtling towards the city. If the General was to guess, he would say there were sixty to seventy fiery objects falling to ground. He smiled as the enemy forces largely ignored them, they _obviously_ had never met an Orbital Dropping Death Dealer before. The special forces branch of the Alliance Armed Forces was, simply put, one of the most brutal and efficient branches out there, seconded only by the N7 Special Ops. Their goal was simple: Where the N7 would use stealth and cunning to attack and kill their enemies, and would be deployed in front of, or behind enemy lines, OD3's were basically walking tanks, deployed _within_ enemy lines, _behind_ enemy lines, and _directly_ in front of enemy forces. They were one of the _three_ Armed Forces groups that could handle powered exo-skeletons, due to the intense, hellish training they were put through in order to get them ready for orbital drops. [OD3 Training is known as 'Hell School' among their numbers and ranks.], The General knew that there were two other groups that were given powered armor, but other than N7, the third group was a secret guarded with tons and tons of black tape and classified documents.

"OD3's are dropping in!" Declared the General, "They're meeting the enemy _head on_, but even with that fancy armor, they can't handle _that -"_ He pointed at the legions of enemy shuttles "- Alone! Come on marines! The enemy doomed themselves by ignoring this base! Let's move! You've got sixty seconds!" He ordered, as the base's alarm went off.

* * *

_"Sergeant Keller, they're landing several miles outside of Larsfeld. Larsfeld's police force is trying to evacuate civilians, but the city is surrounded on all sides by enemy landers, so they're ushering them into secure homes."_ Said Private, First Class Jonathan Scanders, as he and the survivors of the Roof OD3 Battalion flew towards the ground at speeds of over one hundred twenty miles per hour.

"Dottie, how many police men does Larsfeld have?" Asked Sergeant Jack Keller, one of ten of the remaining sergeants that had survived the destruction of the defense fleet.

_"Seventeen, Sergeant Keller." _Replied his AI, 'Dottie', with her decidedly elderly female voice. _"They have received minimal training, but even if they had OD3 or N7 training, they would not be able to fend off the raw power in numbers the enemy has."_

_"ETA to impact, two minutes." _Said a different Sergeant's AI, to all Orbital Dropping Death Dealers within it's broadcast range.

"Get ready, Dealers." Said Sergeant Keller, as his helmet's visor slid forward and hissed shut. His Heads Up Display began booting up as he looked down and saw the enormous clearing get swarmed with enemy soldiers. There was only about fifty buildings, and a vast majority of them were made out of simple wood and nails, giving the town the 'Old West' feeling that many of the last generation had said they'd enjoyed about colonizing Eden. The enemy soldiers were landing and pouring out of their shuttles by the half-dozens, and were all moving towards the small settlement, that had been classified as Roof's 'capital city', despite not looking the part.

"Heads up at twelve O' clock, it seems they're setting the shuttles to hover in mid-air to provide elevated positions for sniper fire." Reported an OD3, as he marked the shuttle in question on everyone's HUD's.

"Beta Squad leader, here. I need our best marksmans to break off **_now_** and head for the woods. Set up in the trees and start setting up sniper positions, fire when ready." Said a deep, gruff voice over the radio.

"Understood." And with that, Keller heard the muffled 'foompf' that would come with a Drop Pod engaging it's emergency break thrusters to halt it's momentum and send it flying _straight_ down.

"Dottie, what's the situation on breaking through the communications jammers? If we can't get long-range stuff back up we won't be able to call in any support from Eden, or Earth." Keller warned.

_"I and the other AI's, both OD3, Alliance Marine, and simple civilian, are all coordinating to try and find a way to break through the static field, but it is proving to be difficult. The enemy has an immensely complicated and advanced firewall network, but it will take a long time to break through."_ Said the AI, "_I should mention their AI's are 21__st__ century in design, meaning they are… To put it in layman's terms… Retarded. We can outthink, fool, or simply delete them with only a moment's thought before we get past them."_

"Well the _second_ you break through and can send a message, tell me!" Ordered the Sergeant, as the ground in the middle of the settlement rushed up to meet his feet.

_"Understood."_ Said the AI, before Sergeant Keller slammed into the ground, followed swiftly by the dozens upon dozens of other human special forces operatives.

The moment after the sixty plus drop pods slammed into the dirt, the doors to the pods opened and the Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers were greeted with utter chaos. The few thousand civilians that had the 'honor' of winning the lottery and settling here first were all running around, screaming in fear and confusion. Many got the bright idea to sprint to the city limits, only to be halted by the rapidly advancing enemy forces. Many were being guided to the buildings in the center of town, by the policemen who'd blocked off all major entrance roads with their vehicles. Sergeant Keller would admit that he was surprised that seventeen policemen were able to shepherd all of these people to the center of town. When the civilians noticed the OD3's they all immediately began swarming them, looking for direction and for safety.

Keller stood forward, _"PEOPLE!" _He shouted, his voice magnified by his helmet's speakers, _"GET INSIDE, LOCK THE DOORS, AND DON'T LET ANYTHING THAT ISN'T HUMAN, GET IN!"_ He ordered, using his 'military voice', which got the immediate reaction of everyone scrambling for the nearest building.

A police officer, with a thick black goatee, and wearing some sort of black and blue uniform and the same colored baseball cap came up to Keller. The policemen wore a badge that said 'Sheriff', so Keller assumed he was talking to the leader of the small force.

"Sir! Are you Alliance?" Asked the policeman, curiously eying the OD3, who stood tall at six feet, four inches, in his armor.

The OD3 wouldn't blame the Sheriff for being so cautious, many people who saw Alliance Special Forces in full Powered Assault Armor outright feared them. The armor was designed with the idea in mind that anything too overkill would make the OD3 'Marines' [As they were also referred to] look like monsters, but anything too small would be too inefficient. So to respond to this, they called upon the ideas and aesthetic appearances crafted during World War 3, where the powered assault armor would distinctly _look_ human, but would have enough of a difference where the Special Forces men could be distinguished from Marines and other such 'regular' enlisted folks.

The OD3 chest plate was large, and thick, and covered the entire upper body of the wearer. The upper and forearms of the wearer were also covered in thick armor, and the hands were protected by small 'spears' of thick armor. The helmets looked not unlike American Football helmets, but instead of the facemask consisting of metal bars, it was a single, solid slab of metal, contoured to fit the shape of a human head. And instead of a simple gap, from which the wearer could look out of, there was a visor, which gave the wearer an advanced, Special Forces Heads Up Display. The inside of the helmet had a large amount of padding, and an integrated short-range radio. The thighs of the wearer, as well as the lower leg pieces were all made of several plates of armor, and the boots were made of several overlapping layers of armor, made to fit the general shape of any human foot, and the codpiece was just that, a codpiece.

The color-scheme of the Alliance OD3 Powered Exoskeleton Assault Armor was a simple, black-and-dark grey digital camouflage pattern, that emitted slight frequencies that allowed the wearer - when in stealth mode - to be completely invisible to radar. It was rumored that this stealth technology was being outfitted to shuttles, and that a new line of Stealth Frigates was to be made the same way.

"Yes sir, Sergeant Jack Keller, Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers. Are you the chief of police?" Asked Keller.

"We don't have one, city's too small… But I'm the closest thing _to_ a chief, so yes, I am." Responded the nodding Sherriff.

"Alright then, that's good enough. I know there are seventeen of you, I need you to send your _very best_ to spread out amongst the buildings with civilians in them. They are to open the doors for _no one_ who can't answer the pass-question right."

"What'll the question and answer be, Sergeant?"

"The question will be, 'Who was the first man to stand upon the moon'. The answer will be 'Armstrong.'. Understood?"

The Sherriff nodded, "Alright. What next?"

"We set up a perimeter around the town. We've got about five minutes before the enemy forces arrive. So we do whatever we can wherever we can. I've already got my men setting up Sniper's nests and firing upon the enemy, that'll slow 'em down but not for long. The second you've cleared out civilians, you find me!" Said the Sergeant.

"Yes sir!" And with that, the Sherriff ran off to obey the man's orders.

"OD3's, what's the status on the perimeter?!" Demanded Keller, as he sprinted to a building his squad has set up in.

_"Sergeant Keller, this is Sergeant Reedus. We've set up snipers in the tallest buildings and have set the police vehicles with explosives. We've got our heavy weapons and others setting up on ground and mid-levels of buildings and have the most major entry points into the city covered."_

"Roger that. Anything else?"

_"The forest snipers have begun firing upon the enemy, and have confirmed some bad news."_

"What is it?"

_"They aren't human, and they aren't Quarian."_

"So this is first contact." Stated Keller, as he entered one of the smaller buildings, which looked like a pub of some sort.

_"Yes. We did try talking to them, but we've only received static in response."_

"So it's war."

_"Yup."_

"And we're cut off from Alliance Command?"

A sigh, _"Yup."_

Keller sighed, as he set up next to a window and chambered a round in his rifle, "Channel three." He ordered, a moment later, he switched over and asked, "Give it to me straight. You think we're making it out of this?"

Another sigh, _"Nope. We're not getting out of this, but we've got to find some way to send a message to the Alliance, and warn them." _

"See what you can do."

_"CONTACT!"_

And with that, the battle began.

* * *

The battle had been going on for two hours, and good progress was being made for the Turian Hierarchy. Casualty reports were coming in, and for every one Turian injured, two Quarians would fall to show for it. The Turians would enjoy a swift, decisive victory within the day.

"Admiral! We've got news from the ground." Said a Turian Naval Officer.

"Let's hear it then."

A few moments passed, _"Admiral Valast? This is Commander Jordel Arterius. I've got unprecedented news!"_ Shouted the Commander, over the radio, over the sounds of battle.

"What is it, Commander?"

_"They are __**not**__ Quarians, at least, not all of them!" _Shouted the Turian.

"Say again?"

_"The enemy! We aren't simply fighting Quarians! This isn't a Quarian-colonized world, and these aren't __**only**__ Quarians living here!"_

"Well then, what _are_ you fighting?" Demanded the Admiral.

_"Unknown! We can't understand what they're saying and we can't recognize their physical appearances! I think we're fighting - - SPIRITS! INCOMING!"_ A moment later the radio cut off.

"Sir! Look!" Shouted a navigator, from the 'pit', Valast moved to the main navigation deck and looked out the window, and saw the main battle zone explode, literally. Dozens of incredible bombs had rained upon the battle zone and were disintegrating the Turian attack forces near the outskirts of the town they were invading. Valast's heart ached as he realized he was _watching_ the men under his command die.

"What are these people, to use nuclear weapons on their homeworld?" Asked a navigator.

"This isn't their people's homeworld." Stated Valast, "We only detected a _single_ city upon the entire world. That means we've got another world to hunt for Quarians." He said, "As to the nuclear weapons… We know more things about whatever species this is, now. First, they have _broken_ Council law, by experimenting on the Mass Relay, and by using WMD's on Garden Worlds." He said, "Secondly… They are willing to do whatever it takes to destroy the enemy… And thirdly, they have not only aided and abetted _declared_ enemies of the Citadel, but they attacked a Citadel race, and destroyed countless Turian ships. So let us respond in kind." He paused, moved to his seat, and broadcasted to the entire first fleet.

"Turian First Fleet, this is Admiral Valast. I am hereby issuing executive command AW12, deploy all available troops to the attack zone. Full execution, no prisoners. If these people must use WMD's to kill us… Then we will show them we will respond in kind."

* * *

The Alliance Marine and Quarian Migrant Fleet Marine reinforcements had been crucial in the defense of Larsfeld, and when mid-range communications had been established with orbital satellites, Dottie informed Keller that the Alliance Destroyer 'Balboa', had deployed a _single_ 'Hand of God' satellite, which had been passing over the battle zone. Keller immediately ordered the bombardment of the alien defensive and offensive line, and a few minutes later, the hundreds upon hundreds of enemy soldiers were killed in a large, fiery explosion.

"Haha! We won!" Shouted a marine.

_"Damn_ good work, soldier." Said a General, 'Williams', Keller thought he'd called himself, "You're getting a promotion after this!"

"Thank you sir." Nodded Keller, as his men scanned the battlefield and picked off the remaining alien forces.

"Now get your AI's to break into the communications satellites, get a message to Earth, tell 'em we… Need… A miracle." The General's face went white as the ground was enveloped in several dozen shadows.

Keller whipped around, to see _hundreds_ of alien ships descending to the planet.

* * *

_Four Days Later_

* * *

"Good evening, and welcome to the Citadel News Network. I am your host, Lian Sel'noor." Said the attractive Asari anchor, with the same customary smile and nod she would use each time the show would begin each day, "The galaxy can finally rest easy today, as the Turian Hierarcy - aided by the Batarian Hegemony - finally found the Quarian Migrant Fleet. The planet the Quarians were positioned above happened to be a planet scheduled for Batarian Colonization, 'Porland'. The Batarian colonization flotilla - consisting of a large portion of the Batarian navy - immediately called the Turians for support, as they were immediately fired upon by the Quarians. After a lengthy naval engagement, during which dozens of Turian ships, and nearly half of the Batarian flotila were destroyed - though nearly all of all crews were recovered - the Turian/Batarian navies were able to destroy the Quarian ships, and immediately launched a ground invasion of Porland." She explained, "After four days if intense fighting, the Turians were able to succesfully push the Quarians off world, but the Quarians - breaking yet another Citadel law in the process - used _Mass Accelerator _rounds on the planet in an attempt to deter the Turian threat. Obviously this attempt failed, but it helped the Turians realize that this planet was merely a front for the Quarian race, as data recovered from the myriad of terminals and VI's present in the town 'Larsfeld', suggested and confirmed that the Quarians have made their main base of operations upon a garden world known as 'Earth'." She explained.

"Today I am joined by a Turian Military General, Neilian Solais, as he shall explain to us the long-term Turian strategy for the invasion of 'Earth'." The camera zoomed out and Lian turns in her seat to face the formally dressed Turian, who was dressed in a Turian suit, as opposed to the Asari in the dress, "Now, General Solais, how entrenched in this planet can we expect these Quarians to be?" She asked.

"Well, Miss Sel'noor, they can be anywhere from merely hovering above it, to heavily colonized upon it. The Virtual Inteligences they used to store the planet's locations were so encrypted that it took our most skilled hackers and data retrievers _hours_ to crack their security and gain the location, but even then it was fragmented and corrupted. We know that the main base of Quarian operations is, in fact, on 'Earth', but mentionings of a planet known as 'Eden' were also found, which means that the Quarians have at least _two_ planets colonized under their rusting, deteriorating flag." He explained, "This planet, Eden, was said to have a sizeable force of Quarians upon it, but Earth was protected by numerous contingincies and protocols, and we - while unable to get _exact_ numbers - were able to learn that Earth had a much larger population than Eden, which means that Earth is their primary planet, their 'secondary homeworld', if you will, and that they have colonized upon _that_ planet more than this 'Eden'." He explained, "Even then, it took us several days to piece together Earth's location, and we still only have a general outline. The VI's were programmed to go about and delete _all_ of their data if they were compromised, but we managed to salvage enough."

"So, knowing this, what is the Turian Military's plan?" Asked Lian.

"It is a simple invasion plan, we shall hit this 'Earth' with the largest force - consisting of the Turian First, Second, and Third fleets, and all Marine and Special Forces detatchments to go along with - and immediately upon Earth's fall, we shall scavenge any and all data that can be found, and move to Eden." Said the General, "In all, it should take less than a month, two at the _most_ to finish the Quarians."

"Now, many are concerned that the Quarians will use their fifty thousand ships to outnumber and overpower the Turian fleets. How do you respond?"

"The Quarian Migrant Fleet is comprised _primarily_ of liveships. That means that, while said ships may indeed, be armed, they will not be as heavily armed as Quarian naval vessels - which, as Porland has shown us, we can destroy rather easily." Explained Solais, "That, coupled with the fact that our fleet is _far_ more advanced than the Quarians' scavenged and failing ships, and that they posess _no_ Dreadnoughts to speak of, resistance will be heavy, but The Turian Military _alone_ outnumbers the Quarians' entire population. Resistance will be heavy, but futile."

"So, in other words, victory is assured?"

"Yes."

"Alright, now, some say the Quarians have become so desperate that they have taken to activating and deactivating _dormant_ Mass Relays, and even going so far as to realligning them. How do you respond?" Asked Lian.

"True on both accounts, yesterday the Turian Dreadnought _Palaven's Might_ ventured forth from the Porland Relay and found that there were no Quarians to speak of. The system it linked us to didn't even have a Garden World. So we used the navigational data pieced together, and recovered from the Quarian VI's and have begun the process to reallign the Relay towards Earth." Responded the General, "Said Process should take a day, at most. Afterwards, the might of the Turian Military will be brought to bear upon the Quarians, and the war shall be swift, but brutal."

"Do you fear another Rachni situation, General?"

"Not in the slightest. The Turian Hierarchy is _easily_ five times stronger than it was when we defeated the Krogan, who, at the time, were the only force in the galaxy capable of defeating the Rachni. If we can defeat the Krogan, at a military power that we would laugh at today, we can defeat another Rachni hord."

"Well, that's definitely reassuring." Said Lian, "Thank you so much for your time, General." She said, nodding, "Join us after the break for the latest reports on Terminus slaver rings, also: Attican Traverse, haven for new species?"

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers:_

One of the best known Alliance Special Forces branches is the Orbital Dropping Death Dealer, or the 'OD Three's', as they are commonly referred to. OD3's are a cut above the rest, marines that prove that they are better than the best, are sent to OD3 Training Camp [Also known as: The Camp] Where they undergo a Spartan-esque training schedule, that tests the very limits of what the Human body is capable of.

As the name implies, OD3's are troopers that are literally dropped in front of, or behind enemy lines, with the purpose of causing mayhem among enemy forces, unlike the N7 Special Operations, the OD3's are known for being 'Human Tanks', in the sense that, where N7 move with stealth and agility, the OD3's simply drop in front of, behind, or within Enemy Lines to continue the battle. OD3's are required to be tougher than the rest, and have a slightly augmented bone structure, so they can survive the orbital drop. They are skilled in all forms of combat: Ranged, Long Ranged, Melee, Close-Quarters, and even Vehicular. It is said that one OD3 is more capable than ten marines. [Though that's not meant to discourage the Corps, both are remarkably efficient in their own regard.] OD3's tend to drop from either the upper/outer atmosphere, or the borderline edges of the Planet's gravitational pull. It is also possible to launch OD3 Pods from a ship doing battle in orbit, away from the atmosphere, though launch accuracy is lost this way.

_Alliance Powered Infantry Assault Armor [Power Armor]:_

A dream that had been in existance since the Afghanistan/Iraq war in the 21st century [And some say even before that], the Alliance Powered Infantry Assault Armor is a set of armor that, as the name implies, works under power and is made to tailor to the user's strengths and weaknesses. 'Normal' Alliance Marines are unable to use the armor, due to the intense training needed to master it, but the main special forces branches of the Alliance Military make extensive use of it.

Alliance Power Armor lists in three ranks: Light armor, which merely consists of standard-issue Alliance Armor and a few motorized limb enhancers that increase the strength of the user. Medium Standard Armor, which is the most recognized version, holds the above, but with a heavier set of armor and enhanced strength abilities [Moreso than the light armor]. Heavy Powered Assault Armor holds much more armor than it's brothers, and bosts a 'thicker' energy shield. This version of the armor is - by itself - able to lift over fifteen hundred pounds of weight, more, when coupled with the user's strength.

All modern Powered Armors come standard with an Energy Shield and a Special Forces Heads Up Display. Powered Assault Infantry Armor is used exclusively by the Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers [Primarily: The Medium armor], Alliance N7 [Primarily: Light Armor] and {Redacted under Alliance Inteligence Order: 13612998} [Unknown Primary Armor usage, uers are known to be trained in all forms of armor.]

_Alliance Satelite Based Weaponry: Hand/s of God_

The theory appeares in the late 1900's, post space-race humanity. The theory was that rockets, simple rods of tungsten/depleted uranium, or even simple stones or other inert projectiles, could be thrown from space at the Earth, and the slowly increasing speed from the travel from orbit to the ground would increase the explosive power of the projectile.

The first generation 'Hand of God' satelite was deployed by American forces near the end days of World War 3. 'Rods from God' [The Projectiles launched from the satelites themselves] can be considered an early version of the modern Rail Gun. They use speed, momentum, and velocity to increase destructive powered. The engines on the projectiles, coupled with the four alternating rods of Depleted Uranium and Tungsten [Four rods, two of each, for each missile] can get a missile from zero to ten miles an hour in one second, and as they are propelled to the Earth, and dragged down by Gravity, the speed increases to a point where the missiles could - in theory _and_ in practice - hit speeds where the damage could be compared to Nuclear weapons. [However, 'Nuke Speed' Hand of God satelites are exclusively posted above Earth and Eden, average Alliance ships only carry 'average' speed Hands of God, which do more than enough damage on their own.] Nuke Speed Hands of God have only ever been used _once_ in Human History, at the battle of Beijing during World War 3. The Hands of God themselves have been used numerous times, and are seen by many to be the predecessor to the Alliance Rail Gun.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N:  
A lot of folks seem to be slightly put-off by the numbers I'm projecting for the Turian Military.  
I am basing their ship, troop, and vehicle numbers based upon established lore and real-world statistics. (It's _all_ a lot of guess work, but it's _educated_ guess work...)_

_For the Turian Navy, I have to assume many things, in order to get a solid number for their ship-levels._

_Firstly, it's outright stated that the Turians are in charge of the peace-keeping duties in the Galaxy, and are the single most powerful military species in the Galaxy.  
Secondly, it is also outright stated [Both in dialogue and in codex] that the Quarian Migrant fleet has the single largest collective ship-numbers in the __**galaxy.**__ However, I very much doubt that __**every**__ Quarian ship is armed to the teeth [That's not to say each ship isn't armed, I just doubt they're all big-ass walking, live-in tanks. {I do understand that in Mass Effect 3 most, if not all, Quarian ships were outfitted with Thanix weaponry, but this is an A/U Representation of the First Contact War, the Quarians have yet to even think about equipping the fleet as such.}], and I doubt even less so that they have the largest Navy. [Ships? Yes. Navy? Possible, but doubtful.]_

_The above is important, because [As _I_ understand it] the Turian Hierarchy is the sole military superpower in the Mass Effect universe. [The Asari, Salarians, and even our own species would be considered Greater Powers in our own rights. {The Terms, by the way, I've taken from Wikipedia.}] This means that it is all but _expected_ for them to have the single largest military in the Galaxy. [In the Real World, the United States of America is {To Quote 'The Last Resort} 'The Sole, Guardian Military Superpower in the World.', and as such, the US has the largest naval, aerial, and vehicular-based fleets on Earth. {Not in terms of numbers of soldiers, though. The People's Republic of China holds that honor.}]  
_

_But wait, the Quarians have the largest fleet... And the Turians have the largest military... What am I missing?_

_I'll tell you what I'm missing, the Turians may not have a fleet of fifty thousand ships, but they DO have the single largest navy known to Citadel Space. Given the Quarian Migrant Fleet's numbers, I think it's safe to assume that the Hierarchy has an estimated 30 - 37,000 ships available at all times. I will conceed that a good... there's six to seven thousand ships under the Turian banner that are patrolling the borders to the Terminus systems, and keeping the Citadel safe, which is a job for all species [It is implied that each Citadel species with an extra-solar navy helps guard the Citadel]. That's not to say the Turians are just sitting on thirty one thousand warships... No. They've got a decent amount of those ships out helping with Patrol duties, or ending pirate/slaving raids, and so on._

_Now, as to the First Fleet's numbers. This is a great amount of OC, Lore Creation, and guess work, but I still feel that it's educated and is realistic enough.  
In the game, the Alliance First Fleet was supposed to be the single largest in terms of numbers, and it is hinted that the Turian First Fleet is even larger. So I'm going to make an educated guess, and say that the entire Turian First Fleet [Plus the one or two Dreadnoughts Sparatus threw in there as a show of force] would equal 15,612 ships, with eleven Dreadoughts [Not including the ones thrown in via Sparatus' command.]. That _alone_ would be enough to decimate a lesser military power, such as the Batarians, or the Volus.  
And if you remember, in the last chapter I hinted at the presence of at least two more Turian fleets, and in the above, two more in addition to the previous two. That equals FIVE fleets [With a total 37K ships] for the Turians to blow sh*t up with._

_And I'm going to tell you right now, the Human Systems Alliance [Even with the addition of the Quarian Navy {But not the Migrant Fleet}] does NOT have upwards of thirty eight thousand ships to defend Earth's two or three colonies. _

_I hope this helped clear up confusion,  
And without further ado:  
We're off!_

* * *

Chapter 5

November 4th, 2201

* * *

Ten marines - six Quarians, four Humans -, and one Orbital Dropping Death Dealer. Ever since General Williams' colossal mistake in surrendering to the aliens [Which resulted in the extremely low numbers Roof's armed forces now had] there were only ten marines - six Quarians and four Humans -, and one Orbital Dropping Death Dealer. The aliens - 'Turian' the Quarians called them - had slaughtered everyone they found. At first, it looked as if they were sparing the civilians, but after the Rods from God fell, they simply landed _en masse_ and killed everything in sight. The Alliance forces were hiding in a cave on the outskirts of Larsfeld, and Sergeant Jack Keller - the de facto leader of the remaining Alliance forces - was going over his options. The group was running severely low on morale, and Dottie's - Jack's AI's - suggestion only made it plummet further - a few Quarians outright demanded to know if she was trying to get them killed, in a fit of unfiltered rage. She'd suggested _literally_ charging headfirst into the Alliance Marine's base - where the Turians were holding up - and accessing the communications hub. She and the other AI's had forged a program that would allow them a good twelve seconds of clear-air in which they could broadcast to Earth. However Keller doubted this plan would work, ever since the ingenious Turian hacker discovered Contingency Plan Alpha-Indie One, which was, in essence, a backdoor into _any_ AI's programming, in case a human needed to get in and shut the AI down. [Interestingly enough, this wasn't a human idea, but rather it was suggested by Nikola after his creation. The idea and reasoning behind it being that not all AI's were the same, and one may actually pursue an apocalyptic level takeover, and humans needed a way past AI defences in order to shut them down.] Dottie's reaction had been much the same as the Quarians: She conceded that it was a wise plan, and that she agreed with it, which purplexed Keller, but he decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

Currently, Keller was slowly coming to the realization that the last-ditch-effort attack on the Alliance Marine base was the only option available. Despite declaring the Rug Protocol, it was doctrine for AI's to store primary data - star charts, locations data, etc. - on a backup cloud, in the case that Rug Protocol was declared unneeded, or ineffective [Though, upon capture, it was also doctrine to purge all of the AI's data, even the data stored upon the cloud]. The AI that had been captured by the Turians had begun purging it's data clouds, but they'd managed to pull enough to get a general location on Earth, which made the Rug Protocol unneeded, but still in effect. This meant that Earth was in _immediate_ danger, but the Alliance didn't know.

_So there's only one choice._ Keller sighed, as he put on his helmet, and patted the both of his knees.

"I'm not going to lie." Said Keller, as he looked up and around, at his squad-mates, "The mission we're going on... It's suicide. There is _no_ chance for survival. I won't ask anyone to come with me, who doesn't want to." He began, "But... If we don't... _Both_ of our races will either be enslaved, or will be killed." He continued, "We _can't_ let that happen!" He declared, recieving nods in response, "We lost Roof, but look at what we did! We destroyed over _two hundred_ ships, and we numbered at less than **one** hundred!" Everyone shouted 'yeah!', "_Imagine_ what damage we can do with over seventeen thousand ships!" Another agreemant shout, "Now who's coming with me?" He asked.

In response, everyone got to their feet. One Quarian walked to Keller, as he stood up, "Sergeant Keller..." He extended his hand, "Tell us what to do." They shook hands.

* * *

Sergeant Keller was surprised, to say the very least. The Quarians were very good at stealth-recon missions, though he supposed this made sense, in a way. He had been amazed during the battle for Larsfeld, the Quarian Marines' enviro-suits were designed with a sort of 'thinking armor' [Which he found hypocritical, the Quarians relied upon computers to get through warfare? Some things were just too hard to give up, he supposed.] which reacted to enemy fire by rapidly thickening and hardening the part of the suit in immediate danger. So, for instance, if Keller were to shoot one of the Quarians in the calf, the suit around the calf would thicken and harden around the calf to increase it's armor rating, and resistance to damage. The Quarian suits had many advantages when it came to stealth missions, they were relatively skin-tight [As opposed to Keller's powered armor.] so that made them quite flexible and easy to maneuver. However they were skin tight, and as such the Quarian's natural body heat made them dead-giveaways on thermal sensors.

"Sergeant, on our front." Said a Quarian, pointing ahead of them. Sergeant Keller army-crawled to the Quarian, and, sure enough, there it was, an Alliance Marine base.

The Systems Alliance had, ever since it's inception, had a _distinct_ advantage over many of the militaries of Earth. It was new, it was fresh, and it could look upon _every_ military engagement in human history, and design it's bases, training, and doctrine around said history. It had taken influences from all of the modern and historical militaries that had existed in human history, and as such, was considered to be the single most powerful military force known to man. Their military bases were more efficient, and more protective than anything that existed on Earth, now or in the past. Sergeant Keller mentally sighed, as he saw the alien forces absolutely _abusing_ the Alliance's Marine base, they were hacking into and stealing every bit of data they could. Keller had no doubt that they were taking the base's AI - Ryan, a marine had told him it's name was - and were practically torturing it for anything it could teach them. Keller had no doubt that the aliens would be adapting their strategies to fight against more humans, after this engagement.

Sergeant Keller knew where his objective was, Dottie and his HUD told him that in the building lowest to the ground - and mostly reinforced with steel and concrete, making it the most protected - was the base's main Command and Control Center. Dottie had instructed the team that in there, she could insert the program her and Roof's collective AI's had forged, which would give them enough time to send a message to Earth. They'd decided long ago that it would be better in the long run to send the message straight to Earth, as sling-shotting it through Eden's communications systems may do more damage in the long run, than in the short. The Alliance could declare summer contingency, that way, if the Turians traced the transmission, they'd be hitting a target defended with _everything_ the Alliance had, and given that less than one hundred Alliance ships had taken out over _two_ hundred alien ships, he liked the odds the Earth Summer Fleet [The banner under which all ships allied themselves, under Summer Contingency.] had against the Alien armada.

"I assume we're hitting the building in the center?" Asked the Quarian, ripping Keller from his thoughts.

"No, center building is the armory. Look to the east, see the building with the flag flying above it?" Asked Keller.

Silence, for a moment, "Yes, I see it."

"That one's the C3, the Command and Control Center. It's reinforced with steel and concrete, and built low to the ground, so it can withstand as much damage as it needs to." Keller explains, "_that's_ our target."

"I see, so how do you expect us to be able to get there? Through the horde of Turian soldiers?" Asked the Quarian.

"What's your name again?"

"Xar. Xar'Reegar."

"Well, Xar, I planned for that." Explained Keller, as he clicked his fingers, and the low-light holographic interface appeared in front of him. He played with the controls and the surface-less buttons for a few minutes, before they all ever-so-briefly flashed green.

"What was that?" Asked Reegar.

"Dottie informed me that a few AI Fragments from the fleet stitched themselves to each other." Explained Keller, "This new consciousnes was, to say the least, confused. It didn't know what to do. Dottie talked to it and learned that it was - thanks to it's lineage - inter-connected with _every_ Alliance ship's systems. The new AI told Dottie that it could, essentially, activate the back-up engines of _any_ ship it needed - though, it admitted, there weren't many with engines that would activate." He explained, "They continued talking... And you want to know what they learned?"

"What?"

"There's _one_ ship, a Destroyer, that was cut in half. It's got a functioning satelite bay. That means we've got a Hand of God, waiting to be deployed."

"You mean -?"

"Orbital Strike, baby." Keller smiled behind his helmet, as the sky flashed the briefest blue, before six rockets catapaulted themselves to the earth, and decimated the western half of the marine base. The ground shook as the veritable WMD's slammed into the base, and killed hundreds of alien soldiers. Almost immediately after the final rocket hit the ground, the soldiers from the eastern half of the base rushed to the western half, to deal and tend to the wounded. Keller could hear alien leaders barking commands and trying to figure out what just happened.

_"Move, move, move!"_ Ordered Keller, into the radio, before he and his ten allies got to their feet and made haste for the base.

The distraction the Rods from God had created worked perfectly, as the Alliance soldiers thundered into the base, unabated. Keller was the first to hit the concealed door in the wall, he held a small holographic orb to the door's scanner, and Dottie entered the base's systems. She opened the door for them, activated the alarm in the north-western section, sealed off the south-eastern section, activated the fire-systems in the north eastern sections, and caused general chaos everywhere she could. She did everything she could to keep the Turians confused, and moving away from the Command and Control Center.

Naturally, as with all good things, this reprieve from the violence came to a complete, and abrupt end when they came about half-way to the C3.

_"ISNIA! OS NIIF NOJ-LAN!"_ Shouted a flanged voice, before the air became completely and utterly still, for a half second.

Immediately after that second passed, all hell broke loose as the aliens began firing wildly in the direction of the rapidly-moving Alliance forces. The Humans and Quarians simply refused to be pinned down, the Quarians reported a few suit-ruptures and shield-breeches, Keller's shields flared violently, and the remaining humans reported their armor's condition deteriorating as the light-speed sand grains slammed into it and chipped pieces off. Despite this, the Humans and Quarians continued moving as fast as they could, and the moment they breeched the C3, and were all inside, Dottie sealed the building and they immediately fell into formation and began clearing the building. It took them several minutes - and one dead Quarian marine - before they could clear the main control room.

"Dottie, get in and get us that clear air!" Ordered Keller, as he heard the doors to the building explode, "Everyone, get into cover! They're coming!"

* * *

"Where the _hell_ did those Nukes come from!?" Demanded Admiral Tor Valast, "I thought we'd _CLEARED_ that planet of enemy marines!" He shouted.

"It seems that the Quarian and... Human... AI's and VI's inter-connected, and managed to launch another satelite from the belly of one of the... Hooman? Hueman? The alien ship, the satelite proceeded to launch it's payload and bomb the Operating Base." Explained a scanner.

_"Sir!_ We're getting traffic from the planet, it's from the small pocket of Human/Quarian marines we couldn't locate!"

"Track them down and destroy them. What are they trying to say?"

"One moment… Wait... They're in the Operating Base!"

"Kill them! What are they saying!?"

"Orders out, they're moving too fast!

"WHAT ARE THEY SAYING!?" Screamed the Admiral, silencing the bridge.

"The translators are working…"

A few seconds later, a voice played from the speaker of the terminal at which the Turian was working, _"THIS IS SERGEANT… LLER! ROOF HAS… LEN! INITIATE… MER CONTINGENCY! HOST… IFE DISCOVERED … ROOF! EARTH IS NOT SAFE! I …PEAT: __**EARTH, IS NOT, SAFE!"**_ The voice was quickly drowned out by the sound of explosions and gunfire.

"Damn it… They'll be ready for us."

"Councilor Sparatus wants us to initiate the attack immediately, sir."

"Why in the name of the Spirits are we doing this? We know _nothing_ of this race, the 'Humans', yet Sparatus wants us to burn their homeworld, because they've allied themselves with the Quarians? Enemy of the Council or not, this isn't right!" Declared a navigator.

"Son, these 'Humans' have allied themselves with the Quarians, a publicly proclaimed enemy of the Council. Not only that, but they were tampering with a Mass Relay, with the intent to activate it! That right there is breaking Citadel Law, but is that enough for them? **_No!_** They're experimenting with AI's, using Weapons of Mass Destruction on Garden Worlds, and they have the _gall_ to attack us! We _need_ to put this species down hard before they can harm the Council!" Shouted the Admiral, "Now give the order, orient the Mass Relay towards 'Humanity's' homeworld, and prepare for Asymmetric Warfare."

"Understood… Estimated time of completion or reallignment, six hours, twelve minutes, Galactic Standard Time."

* * *

_"I REPEAT: __**EARTH, IS NOT, SAFE!"**_ Shouted the recording, before the Alliance communications officer deactivated the recording device.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Asked Jason Whyte, looking at the woman, who nodded, solemnly.

Jason sighed, "Not enough living through First Contact… Not enough living through the discovery of the Gates… Now I've got to live through a first contact _war_." He sighed again.

"Sir?"

"Call it. Summer Contingency. Rug Protocol is hereby declared ineffective, but still active, _Eden_ is to be hidden. Get _every… damn… ship_ we have to Earth. Contact the Admiralty board on Eden, tell them to prepare their soldiers for a possible imminent invasion, the Quarian Navy _stays_ on Eden to protect it. Go to planet Sparta, get _every single_ SIGMA Operative available and bring them to key points on Earth. We have to be ready for an apocalyptic alien invasion." He said, as he interlocked his fingers and rested his head on them, "Continuity contingency Alpha is hereby declared. Bring the humans and Quarians on Valhalla and put them in stasis. The stasis gets deactivated either by an Executive AI Order, or two centuries after the signal is ceased."

"Is there anything else?"

There was silence for several moments, "Contact Christopher McGraw, and Talo'Zorn. Get them in here _immediately."_ Ordered Jason, "I assume McGraw senior is still on Eden?" He received a nod, "Well forget him, this is one appointment he shouldn't have missed."

* * *

_"Mister McGraw, it is time to wake up. You have a priority one message awaiting you."_ Said the synthesized voice of Gladys, Christopher McGraw's personal AI.

McGraw groaned, and left his bed. He wore no shirt, and his pajamas were loose around the waist, thankfully he noticed this and tied them tight before he stood up. He walked to his cybernetic arm and attached it to his shoulder, before drowsily, he wandering through his cluttered apartment, across the concrete floor, and over to his terminal, where opened up the voice-call he'd received.

_"Christopher McGraw. Summer Contingency has been declared. Hostile alien life has been discovered, and I need you on the Piked Shield, immediately."_ Said the voice.

"I'm sorry, say that again?"

_"Open your door, Mister McGraw."_ Said the voice, a moment later the door was shaken with the sound of fists slamming into it.

"Mister McGraw! You need to open the door immediately!" Shouted a voice from beyond the door.

Chris stumbled over to the door and undid the locks, he was greeted with some familiar faces, "Agent Smith! Nice to see you again, what do you want?" He asked.

"We need you to come with us immediately."

"Do we _really_ have to play this game again?" Asked Chris, as he brought his cybernetic hand to the door frame, ready to slam it on a moment's notice, "I'll have demands. Which may or may not include Secret Service agents picking up my laundry." He smirked.

"If you do not drop the act **_right now_** there is a very good chance Earth will be _burned_." Stated Smith, that sobered up Chris within a few moments.

"Um… I'll need to get dressed." He says.

"No need." Smith held up several bags full of pants, boots, socks, and shirts. "One in every size. You'll get dressed on the way."

Chris followed the two agents, "Where are we heading?" He asked.

"The Alliance Ship, _The Piked Shield._" Said Smith.

"Ooh, haven't been on a first-gen Flagship in a while." Chris mused.

After the trio exit's the apartment building, they are greeted with an Alliance shuttle. "How in god's name did you park this in the parking lot?" Asks Chris.

"Veeeery Caaaarefuly." Said Smith, as the ramp opened, Chris' face brightened when he saw who was inside.

"Hey Talo!" Says Chris, as he ambled inside and is given the clothes.

"Hello!" Talo's head snapped up to look at Chris, but almost immediately snaps down when he sees his relative lack of clothes. "Um… Sorry…" She muttered.

"What? This?" Asked Chris, as he slips a pair of pants over his pajamas, and a shirt over his chest. "All done." He said, chuckling, before he grabbed the boots and starts comparing sizes, before he finds the right one and puts it on.

"So what're you doing on Earth? I thought the Admiralty board was based on Eden." Said Chris, "Thought the folks here on Earth -" He pretended to cough, and managed to get out 'Terra Firma' as he did "- Didn't quite like Quarians." He said.

"I was called upon to answer a few questions about the Vorcha, that the Codex failed to mention." Said Talo, "And… Well, I wanted to visit your 'Washington Monument'… It seemed so… amazing in the pictures I saw, and I wanted to see it for myself." She explained.

"Cool." Said Chris, after he slipped on the last boot, "Bit abstract, for me. Me? If I ever get a monument erected in my honor, I want them to _know_ it's me, none of the abstract crap, like the Washington monument."

"I see... So… How have you been?" Asked Talo.

"Been fine, I think I'm getting close to cracking the Mass Accelerator-Rail Gun." He said, "Granted, it'll be a _long_ time before I _tell_ them I'm done with it. It's a stupid damn practice, adopting the _enemy_'s weapons to use against them." He said, before he cut himself off, "But I've been distracted the past few months, the Alliance has been all but begging me to find a way to make long-range energy weapons, I'm trying to find something to circumvent Kinetic Barriers and Titanium armor altogether… An Anti-matter Particle Beam would be perfect, I know exactly how to design the machine and how to give it more range than a PDLC, but the problem is the heat the weapon generates, it fries the machine before the beam can get far enough. Super-cooled water only goes so far." He ranted.

"Did you try liquid nitrogen?" Asked Talo, "Or perhaps void exposure?"

"I tried both, liquid nitrogen destroys the inside of the machine, giving it a _one_ time use. Void exposure sucks out the AM power supply, and if I weigh down the power supply, I risk reducing the range and/or thickness of the energy beam." Said Chris, "I've tried every conducting element on Earth and on Eden, to try and find something that can take the heat, but nothing I've found so far works."

"Have you tried wrapping the machine in an energy barrier?"

"Wouldn't do anything, that'd just trap the heat inside, and energy shields - while I'm _pretty damn close_ to getting them ship-grade - will sacrifice a **_lot_** of effectiveness if we make them skin-tight. So wrapping them around the wires and mechanics of the machine would do little good, because we'd need shields so small that they'd be ineffective."

"I see…" Talo thought for a moment, as Chris cracked his back and his neck, and shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up faster. "What about the reverse synthesized alloys from the relay fragment?" She asked.

"I can't appropriate any, the Alliance is trying to make _ships _around that metal. By the way, I haven't gotten a _single_ thank you for the idea, we chipped a huge frigging chunk off of the First-Contact Relay, and in the process, discovered the single toughest element known to man, and after three years, my dad found a way to synthesize the stuff. He gets the credit, like always." Said Chris, with a bit of contempt.

"Well… _I _know it was your idea…" Talo muttered.

"Heh, thanks." Said a smiling Chris, "But still, the Alliance wants to devote _every_ 'Tuning Metal' synthesizer to the creation of some flagship… I think they're going to call it the 'Beautiful Annihilation', or something. So, despite the three hundred sixty two times I've asked, they're not giving me _any_ for myself, so I've got to make due with what I _can_ get." He ranted, "But, let's get off of that depressing subject, why do you think we've been called?" Chris asked her.

Talo shrugged, "I don't know, I was told that Earth was under the Summer Contingency, and due to me being the only member of the Admiralty board here, I had to accompany them to the _Piked Shield_." She told him.

"I was told that Earth was going to be burned by a hostile alien race." Deadpanned Chris, "So with what you know, and with what I know… We know _nothing!"_ Chris smiled, and Talo giggled.

The two continue this idle chat for the fifteen minute flight it took for the shuttle to go from Earth to the _Piked Shield_. Upon landing, they were ushered out and brought into the briefing room, they were met by Jason Whyte, and a seven and a half foot tall human, in special forces armor. Chris recognized the powered armor immediately.

"_JD_, how are you and the Special Forces folks enjoying the energy shield?" Chris asked, before he sat down at the table.

"Immensely." Said the Special Forces operative.

"There's no time for idle chat, because we have much to discuss, and very little time to discuss it. First of all, what we are about to say, will _not_ leave this room, understood?" Asked Jason Whyte.

Chris and Talo nod, "Good. Secondly, Roof was lost."

"Well, Roof wasn't guarded as well as… Say… Eden, or Earth." Says Chris, "So, that's not an entirely bad omen."

Talo looks at him, with shock evident in her glowing white eyes, but Whyte cuts her off, "Regardless, Roof was lost and a hostile alien race is the result. They use Eezo ships and mass accelerator weaponry. Their kinetic barriers are stronger than anything we've ever seen, and their weapons are strong enough to destroy most of the lower class ships, Frigates, with one shot." Explains Whyte.

"Have we pit any Dreadnoughts, or Flagships against them?"

"They haven't hit any of our main hub-worlds, Eden or Earth. But we received a message from Roof, shortly before all communications went silent… Roland, play it."

Silence, for a moment, _"INITIATE… MER CONTINGENCY!"_ Was suddenly shouted, through the intercom in the room, _"HOST… IFE DISCOVERED … ROOF! EARTH IS NOT SAFE! I REPEAT: __**EARTH, IS NOT, SAFE!"**_ It screams, before the speaker is overcome by explosions and gunfire.

"As such, we've called Summer Contingency. The message specifically mentioned _Earth_, but we're ordering the Quarian fleet remain at Eden, to be safe. But this is only part of the reason why I've called you here." He paused, and interlaced his fingers, "McGraw, I understand you seem to know a severe weakness in Kinetic Barriers."

"Uh, yeah… They only block things moving at a certain speed, meaning, Mass Accelerator Weapons. Also known as… _The weapons you're trying to get me to make."_ Says Chris. "But if you're looking for what I think you're looking for, then my answer is they only block physical, kinetic strikes. Meaning things like rockets, bombs, bullets and cannons. Lasers and particle beams completely ignore Kinetic Barriers… That's why I want to make a shift to Energy Shields, they block _everything_." He adds.

"But we can't get our energy weapons to work at ranges…"

"That's why you _give me the Tuning Gate metals I've been asking for_!" Chris says, "I've got a weapon that makes the A-Bomb look like a fucking stick, but I need the metals to create it. And seeing as how we're facing the imminent extinction of the entire human race, I'll also say I need a blank check." He lists off. "And that ship you're making with the synthesized Tuning Metals? That thing is getting shielded with an Energy Shield - - that I need the blank check to complete!" He adds.

"Anything you need, you've _got_ it." Says Whyte, "You just better be _damn _sure you are right." He adds.

"I know I'm right. Energy shields block everything, Kinetic Barriers block everything except directed energy attacks. A particle beam made solely of trillions of septillions of anti-matter particles will cut through _any_ ship out there, like butter." Insists Chris. "Which is why we need to switch to Energy Shields, _those_ shields will block the Particle Beam, and allow us to be immune from it's effects."

"You're sure of this." Says Whyte.

"How many times do I have to - - **_YES!"_** Chris shouts, growing slightly fed up with the conversation. "I just need the Tuning Metals, limitless funding, and a work space that will be the safest from alien attack." He elaborates.

"Then you've got it. Now, Admiral Torn, do you have any information on the enemy?" He asks, "We got a single word we don't know the meaning of, so we assume it's alien, does 'Turian' mean anything to you?" Asks Whyte of the Quarian Admiral.

Talo'Zorn nods, "The Turian Hierarchy… They are a lot like Earth's United States, and the Alliance's… Well, armed forces… They are the sole guardian Military _Superpower_ in the Galaxy. They serve peacekeeping duties and has the single largest military, in any sense… Naval, ground-based, aerial based, you name it, they've got a million units to back it up." She says. "They are very proud, and very disciplined, they won't break rank at all, even if their line has fallen apart. They will retreat in formation and lay traps along the way. They are… What is the human phrase? Sportan? They are Sportan in nature, they start training at a young age, before adulthood, and service is mandatory for males and females." She says, "So every Turian you meet has military training to back him or her up, and no enemy can be claimed to be 'just a civilian'."

"So expect _heavy_ resistance." Summarizes Whyte.

"Yes." Says Talo.

"If there is nothing else, please, head back to Earth and report to the Rushmore base, you'll find everything you need there." Orders Whyte, as he stands up.

Chris sighs deeply, as he too stands up, "Come hell or high water, right?" He chuckles, as he and Talo make their way to the shuttle.

* * *

"Relay realignment should be completed in three hours." Reports an engineer.

"What's the word on the rest of the fleets?" Asks Admiral Valast.

"Should arrive in four hours."

"If it will take so long, we will just delay the attack and wait for the rest of our forces to arrive." Says the admiral.

"But the Councilor said -"

"Spirits _damn_ what the Councilor said, _I_ say we will play it safe and attack with far greater numbers." Orders the admiral.

"Sir, why are they only sending the second fleet? I thought they were sending in the Third too?"

"Because, when the second started moving from it's defense points several Terminus gangs attempted to press upon that. The Third fleet is staying to assist the patrol fleets in the second's absence." The admiral responded, "Still… The first and second fleets bring us up to twenty thousand warships. The fifteen thousand that remain - plus the Salarian and Asari ships coming in to bolster the patrol fleets' strength - are more than enough."

* * *

"Well… This is _just_ what I was looking for." Said Christopher McGraw, as he steps into a vast, sterile white laboratory. He spread his arms and spun as he moved forward, "There's **_SO MUCH SPACE!"_** He shouted, "And I've been stuck in that damn apartment for my entire career… Imagine how the Anti-engines would've looked if I'd made them _here_!"

"Yes… They would have looked amazing." Said Talo, as she strolled down the stairs and into the laboratory.

Despite the lab's vast amount of space, Talo could see many a multitude of advanced equipment. There were several rooms in which they could work, and she could see things that would have made aspiring scientists and established ones' knees shake. She saw laser-welders, weapons creators, and -

"A _metal synthesizer!"_ Shouts Chris, before he takes out Gladys' AI Disk and places it on the machine. "Can it do Tuning Metal?" He asks the AI.

Several moments pass by in silence, during which Talo suddenly realizes that the isn't alone with Chris, as men and women begin leaving their offices, obviously wondering what was going on. The thought of being alone with him made her blush, and the fact made her wonder if she could finally act upon the feelings she'd been developing for him for the few months she'd spent working with the human. She'd made attempts to show him before, but he always seemed too engrossed in his work, in a conversation with someone else, or plain too thickheaded to notice.

_"Yes, Mister McGraw."_ Said the human's oddly toned AI, _"The Director of Alliance Affairs was true to his word, I can see that this machine can create Tuning Metals._"

_"Kickass!"_ Shouts McGraw, as he takes out a small orb-shaped device from his pants pocket, and activated it. Jorra is reminded of the phrase Chris had taught her, 'Like a kid in a candy store'. She thought he was just like that, as he was presented with so much space and equipment to work with. Immediately after activation of the orb-shaped device, the entire laboratory is scanned by some sort of laser field, a moment after the scan is completed, holographic interfaces begin appearing in mid-air and on the ground, ceiling, and walls.

"Oh yeah, now I can work. Gladys, start making the Tuning Metals, you've got the schematics for the machine?"

_"Yes, Chris, I have commandeered several machines in the facility to gather the materials required. One I finish the required Tuning Metals we should be ready for experimentation."_

"Awesome, come o- Oh, hello." Says Chris, to the human that exited one of the labs and walked to him.

"And… Who are you?" Asks the human, a male, speaking in an odd accent.

"I am your new director, congratulations. I need…" Chris pulls a hologram out of thin air, Jorra is reminded of the same interface he has in his apartment, "Several dozen pounds of tuning metals - which my AI is fabricating -… Unobtanium wires, access to anti-matter creation indexes, and an entire room cleared of personnel so my assistant and I can work." He tells the human, who looks at Chris as if he's an idiot.

"This is a _private_ facility, mister. If you do not have the papers and the clearance to back up those claims, I will be forced to detain you."

"Oh yeah, big man in the scientist's outfit, you'll kick my ass…" Mutters Chris, "Listen, dumbass, you want my clearance?"

"Yes!"

"Okay… In about… I'll say… Twelve hours, why don't you go visit New York City? Huh? While hordes and hordes of technologically advanced aliens are pouring down and slaughtering our people in droves, you can sit back and be happy knowing that _you_ denied the guy that'll be making the gun that'll save the human race." Chris says, smiling.

"Uh…"

"_Or_, you can say 'Fuck All', trust that I know what I'm doing - I _do_ know the location of this facility, after all - and give me everything on this list." He shoves the hologram into the man's hands. "My name's Chris, by the way. Chris McGraw."

The human stuttered, "Of course, Mister McGraw! Right away, Mister McGraw!"

* * *

Salarian Councilor Sborn Eistan was looking over the latest STG intelligence reports, as he did every night for fun, before he retired to bed. He skimmed over the usual 'Shadow Broker agent confirmation's, and the 'mayoral affairs', he had no time for such nonsense. He did however, find an interesting file attached to the latest report.

It's subject line read 'We found them again.'.

Curious, Eistan opened the report, and within, he found a sort of Codex entry on some new species, calling themselves 'Humans'.

The beginning of the report was dated over one hundred eighty years ago, and read,

_Humans [Also referred to by their self-imposed scientific classification, homo-sapiens] are a class **1** race of sentient bi-pedal beings, believed to have evolved from their home-world animal, the 'Monkey' [Due to their immensely similar genetic structures and appearance similarities {It is interesting to note that they still do in fact, co-exist with the 'Monkey'. There have even been attempts throughout their history to preserve the Monkey's continued existence.}]. Humans [AKA: Humanity, Man Kind, Human Race] are extremely similar to Asari in appearance, but due to lack of test subjects, genetic similarities are merely assumed. Humans have skin colors ranging from pale to tan 'white', and light to dark brown. They have hair on their heads, similar to the Quarians._

_Upon discovery in 2036 - their date - , the humans were embroiled in a civil war that stretched across the vast majority of the continent referred to as 'Eurasia'. [Technically, Europe and Asia are two separate continents, but the landmass as a whole is known as 'Eurasia'.]_

_Salarian Scout Flotilla was preparing for first contact, but we detected a massive radiation spike that, when researched, showed that the humans had employed Nuclear weaponry **upon themselves**._

_The only other species to **ever** do this was the Krogan, and after several years of observation, the war they were undertaking was considered to be on-par with the Rakhana Total War, and the Scout Flotilla was ordered to leave them, and spare the Citadel Council any trouble._

_…_

_That was one hundred eighty years ago._

_Intelligence pulled from the Turian First Fleet outright states that the Turian Navy has engaged scattered Quarian forces along the same area that the human homeworld [Earth] was found. Upon further investigation, it was revealed [Through historical documents pulled and translated by the Turians] that the Quarians had initiated first contact with Humanity, who had already reached to the stars and colonized another world, by the time the Quarians found them._

_That was a few months ago, since then the Quarians have colonized as an equal partner of the 'Human Systems Alliance', and have been helping humanity make leaps and bounds in technological development. _

_Several days ago, the Turian First Fleet engaged a joint Human/Quarian fleet upon a world Humanity called 'Roof' [Named so due to an asteroid belt's presence around the planet.]. The Human/Quarian fleet was destroyed, and the Turian Fleet suffered some destroyed ships. [At the hands of human ships and technology, no less.]_

_Proceeding to further ignore First Contact protocol, the Turians proceeded to launch a ground invasion of Roof, and cleared it within the week. An audio recording sent by human forces was recovered, and is attached. It mentions the 'Mer Contingency', and that 'Earth is not safe'. It is safe to assume that the 'Mer Contingency' is a plan created by the humans to recall all available naval assets to their homeworld to counter imminent threat. The Turians managed to recover the location of the human homeworld, and a priority 0 message from Councilor Sparatus ordered the immediate destruction of human naval forces, and the occupation of Earth, they are currently realigning a Mass Relay as a response to these orders. [It was discovered through the Discovery Link Procedure that there is a dormant Relay in human home-space, but due to circumstances unknown, has yet to be activated. Upon completion of realignment, the relay will activate and the Turian fleet{s} will surge forth.]_

_The press-release issued by the Turian Hierarchy yesterday, as well, contained enourmous amounts of lies and twisted truths. Where the Council was led to believe the Quarians have heavily established themselves on no less than two planets, it is in fact, the exact opposite. It is the Human race that colonized 'Earth' and 'Eden', the Quarians have simply joined them on one of those planets [It is unknown which planet, mind you.]._

_It is the opinion of this agent that the Asari councilor be made aware of this unjust crusade against a species and society that truly did not know any better, before a species that has shown the brutality of the Krogan, surprises us in more ways than one._

- - STG Agent Delian Solus

Councilor Eistan failed to realize he'd stopped walking towards his room, and had simply been standing in the middle of the sterile-white hallway as he read this report.

_Fascinating_, He thought, _We found a species that we were **sure** was doomed to kill itself… And now they've risen from the ashes we cast upon them, and are preparing for war with the _Turians_?_ He could feel a smile tug at his thin lips, but almost as quickly as the smile threatened to break, it was dashed as he realized the possible implications. _What if this species has technology we know nothing about? That is _unique_ to them? What if those barbarians destroy it during their unjust raid?_ A frown replaces the lack of smile, _I must contact Tevos… She must know._

Eistan flicked his finger and activated his Omni-tool, he knew it was late, and Tevos was more than likely in bed with her bond-mate, but this message was one that couldn't wait.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Alliance Special Operations: SIGMA Operations_

_[INFORMATION REDACTED UNDER ALLIANCE INTELIGENCE ORDER: 13612998]  
[DECLASSIFICATION PENDING...]_

_Continuity Contingency Alpha:_

_It had been insinuated, before the Quarians showed themselves to be - not only technologically inferior, but - in posession of a fleet more than 2.5 times larger than the Alliance's, that any military action from them, upon us, could result in the destruction and extinction of our race. In the sudden fear of Mankind's death, Continuity Contingency Alpha was born. Utilizing planet -REMOVED-, the planet was colonized by a population of one million humans [And later, three hundred thousand Quarians, to provide them the same chance as us, after they were absorbed into our society]. The very first thing created and scattered all across -REMOVED- was hundreds upon hundreds of underground stasis complexes, powered by geothermal energy. In accordance with Continuity Contingency Alpha, a signal is broadcasted to each and every stasis chamber on -REMOVED-, and only the order from the Alliance Director him/herself, an executive AI working on behalf of the director, or a designated time [Usually 200 years] after the cessation of signal broadcasting, will release the Humans and Quarians from stasis, so they can begin again and revive their respective races. [A dozen AI's pilot each stasis center, each loaded with the entirety of the knowledge of the Human and Quarian races, in case Stasis neuro-degeneration occurs, and the individuals inside lose their memories.]_

_Human History: World War 3  
__~ "The era of war began in the 20th century, with World War One. It ended in the twenty first, with World War 3." ~~Anonymous Russian Spetsnaz operative._

_Begun in 2036, The Asian Union [Comprising of the People's Republic of China, North Korea, and the Japanese Federation] used it's superior economical position [In the severely dwindling Human economy of the time, the AU held the single most productive economy] and invaded several countries at once. [China, at the time, held the single largest ground-based army, and rivaled the United States in terms of Naval assets. {It is largely considered - though never officially stated at the time - that the People's Republic of 2036 was a military superpower that rivaled that of Cold-War era Russia.} Russia and many countries in Europe are invaded simultaneously. The attacks came as a complete surprise to all the countries affected, and a shock-and-awe strategy is applied by the AU, as they rapidly and swiftly destroyed armies and burned their cities. _

_Several weeks after the AU began their attacks, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization all but demanded that the Union halted their attacks, give back taken territory, and make reparations. In response, everything the AU wasn't using to defend it's borders, or continue invasions, was brought to bear upon America. In a relatively unseen move, the AU invades the US East Coast. The Americans were able to fend off the attacks, and as they made pereparations to repair and respond, a Nuclear warhead was discovered in the White House, said warhead detonated not a day later, killing millions._

_The United Kingdom, and the Canadian governments only barely manage to hold the United States back from a full Nuclear Response. King Charles of England convinced President Hammerfeld that a full American response would prompt a full Asian response [It was revealed at the beginning of the War {When the Russian Federation began priming it's nukes} that the North Koreans and the Chinese both had an impressive array of Nuclear Weapons.] President Hammerfeld understood Charles' point, and immediately ordered research into non-nuclear WMD's, and the invasion of the AU [Beginning with captured territory. and planning to move into the heart of China, the de-facto leader of the AU]_

_For over a decade, the entire world [Quite literally] brings it's weapons to bear upon the AU. In 2047, the invasion Beijing is conducted, after the results of America's research into non-nuclear WMD's bear fruit. The Hands of God [And subsequent weapons, the Rods from God] are deployed at 'Nuke-Speed', and for two consecutive hours, Beijing is bombed to dust. The battles that occur after the Beijing Bombing are among the fiercest that occured in the war, but also some of the quickest, as within the week, the UN Flag is flown above Beijing's Capital building.  
__Results of the war:  
__UN Pyrrhic Victory  
UN Joint occupation and de-militarization of the Asian Union. [Said occupation ended in the summer of 2132, de-militarization ended two years later.]  
Death Toll [For Civilians and Soldiers alike] just barely breach the hundred millions. [WW3 is heralded as the deadliest war in human history, even today.]  
The United States is declared one of the three nations 'allowed' to carry Hand of God satelites. [This is to hold true through the creation of the System's Alliance.]  
Washington DC is declared irradiated past living conditions._

_All nations helped by NATO pitch in their smartest scientists and engineers in an attempt to perfect small-scale terraforming technology, so DC can be fixed. [US President Hammerfeld declared this joint-operation 'The beginning of a long, prosperous friendship between nations once divided.'] Several years pass before Washington DC is fixed by the ET, the Earth Terraformer. [This marks the first of two Terraforming Attempts on Earth, first on DC, ther next on Chernobyl, Ukraine. Both countries celebrate as previously uninhabitable territory is once again liveable.] Rebuilding projects are begun immediately in DC, however Chernobyl is left as is [Clean, but barren], as a 'reminder' of the 'One thing Humans can never master'._

_It is generally assumed that, if a 'World War 4' was to be fought with modern technology, Earth would not survive. [Several of the world's smartest climatologists and scientists truly feared a veritable Nuclear Winter, as a result of the Beijing Bombing.] Although, a 'WWIV' is seriously unlikely, with the existance of the Systems Alliance, who would more than likely intervene before the conflict could be declared world-wide._

* * *

_A/N:_

_I read up on a wikipedia article on Assymetric Warfare, it inspired me.  
:)_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

November 4th, 2201

* * *

"In other news, United States Armed Forces have been placed on DEFCON 2, or Defense Condition 2, today, for reasons not yet known. US Marines and US Army-men are being deployed nation wide, and President Helsing has been evacuated to a secure bunker in an undisclosed location, via short-range warp." Said the news anchor woman, as she very clumsily tried to hide reading the teleprompter's words, "As you may know, this is the highest the United States has ever been since World War 3, the most recent change from DEFCON 5 came with First Contact, at which point we were changed to DEFCON 3. As well, the United States has changed the Doomsday Clock - an old concept, existing as far back as 1950, - to two minutes to midnight, the closest it's ever been since the Nuclear strike against Washington DC, back in World War 3." She explained, "As well, we are getting ongoing reports that other countries around the globe are doing the same with their militaries, and an unconfirmed report that the Human Systems Alliance has declared the Summer Contingincy, has also come about."

* * *

"As you can see... _Waaaaaaaaaay _out there, the Royal Navy has recalled all of it's vessels. Ships that had been circling the Arctic Warzone have conducted an emergency warp to return to the UK and shore up it's defenses... There have been unconfirmed reports that King Reginald has been evacuated, and the Prime Minister has been taken to a seperate, secure location. The Royal Marines are currently securing the borders and I've heard that London has begun evacuations. _Mass_ hysteria and panic has occurred, as not anyone knows what is going on, or why they're being told to leave their homes and their belongings."

* * *

"That's right, Charlotte, the United States has called in the 'Mothball Fleet', which, as you know, has been a carefully attended and repaired fleet of sea-based warships spanning all the way back to _1945_, that's _World War 2_ era technology you're seeing get refueled, rearmed, and hastily upgraded for modern warfare. No one honestly knows what's causing the United States Navy to recall every single ship from the Arctic Warzone, and to even activate ships from so long ago, but seeing as how many major cities - such as Washington DC, Seattle, Atlanta, Georgia, and New York - are being evacuated by the United States National Guard, many are assuming that Terra Firma may actually be making good on their threats to attack Earth itself." The reporter paused, as behind him, hundreds of civilians, vehicles, and soldiers surged past him, "This is odd in and of itself, as the Alliance found Terra Firma's main base of operations in Antartica, and after the Nuclear attack on the Quarian ship 'Vjorla', have since declared war upon the organization, and they've been fighting it out there ever since. To think that the terrorists have a military standing that could put _all of Earth_ in such a state, is quite scary, to be frank."

* * *

"It is unconfirmed exactly _what_ is putting the United Nations' Armed Forces on edge, all nations, from the United States, to the Russian Federation, and even here in Germany, are gearing up for an assymetric war. Some say that Terra Firma has hijacked a Planet-Shaker nuclear equipped Flagship, and are heading for the Arctic warzone to change the odds. Others believe that the 'Batarians', mentioned in the Quarian negotiations, have found the Quarians and are looking for vengeance, and some even say that the Quarians have simply gotten sick of our society, and are looking for a hostile takeover. Whatever it may be, the entirety of Humanity's warriors are gearing up to attack whomever may come to harm us."

"God help whomever tries to harm Mother Earth, right Isaac?"

"Right you are."

* * *

"Relay alignment complete, the fleet has arrived." Reported an engineer aboard the _Palaven's Might, _"The sensors are detecting an exit relay in the human system, but it's offline." He added.

"Well, send the signal and get it activated." Ordered Admiral Valast.

"There's a problem with that sir, otherwise we would have done so already."

"What's the problem?"

"It's blocked by something, the sensors can't tell what it is. What should we do?" Asked the engineer.

Admiral Valast is silent for a while, "Are you seriously telling me you skipped the lessons on Relay activation? If a relay is blocked, or, for instance, encased in ice - as Relays have been found before - activating it breaks apart the ice, or removes the blockage so we can safely use it. So activate the damn relay and send the fleets forward!"

"Understood... sir, orders away." The engineer sounded very obviously emberassed.

As the assembled fleets of the Turian Hierarchy moved forward, the Mass Relay enveloped them all in brilliant blue swaths of energy, before it catapaulted them forward at hundreds of light years a second. An instant after the _Palaven's Might_ left the relay, and entered the human-held system, the communications centers lit up like they would on Ascendance Day.

"Sir! We're being hailed." Reported a communications officer.

"Open it up," Ordered the admiral, "Are the translators working? They need to _know_ what they've done."

"Yes sir, the translators we salvaged from the Quarians are working, opening communications channel."

"_Unidentified ships, you are breeching Systems Alliance home-space held under the Summer Contingency. As such you are hereby ordered to heave-to_ immediately_ and submit to a boarding. If you do not respond you will be fired upon with indiscriminant lethal force."_ Said the deep voice of a human, with a tone of authority that gave the Turian Admiral the idea that the human _earned_ it's power.

"Systems Alliance, this is the Turian Hierarchy Admiral Tor Valast." Said Valast, loudly and clearly, "You are intentionally harboring, hiding, and assisting publicly proclaimed enemies of the Citadel Council. _You_ are hereby ordered to lay down your arms and allow occupation."

Several minutes passed before a response was given, _"Turian Hierarchy this is Systems Alliance Director Jason Whyte. Are you the group responsible for invading Roof?"_ The human asked.

"We did so under orders, Director Jason Whyte. The species you are harboring, the _Quarians -"_ The Admiral spit the word out and said it with a tone of pure disgust "- Are responsible for the destruction of several Turian reconnaissance ships and the deaths of hundreds of Turian Naval men and women. Due to a preexisting punishment for this race, they are disallowed to settle worlds better suited for Citadel species, _you_ are breaking a Citadel mandate by allowing them to settle your worlds."

_"Admiral Valast, while I will admit they told us nothing of this… They came to us a destitute, dying race on the verge of extinction. They came to us in a level of disrepair I was amazed, at their inginuity and skill, that they could still function. They spoke to us with a level of humility I myself have never seen before. They __**asked**__ us if we would take them in! If we would SAVE them! In response to this, you want to bomb them off of __**our**__ planets!? This is the __**Human, Systems, Alliance!**__ We are not your 'Citadel Council', we are an autonomous Governmental structure, and the Quarians have become __**our**__ allies by colonizing with us! They, like the Humans of Earth, are **our** people! If you attack them, you may very well have attacked us!_" The human declared, he sounded enraged near the end, _"Admiral Valast, under Systems Alliance Contingency Plan: Sierra-Charlie-Omega __One__, I have absolute power within the Home Territory. This is __Human__ territory, the planet I'm hovering above is the __Human__ home world! The planet you invaded without warning or just cause was a Human __and__ Quarian planet! The __Humans__, and __Quarians__ living on that planet - and all others we as species united decide to colonize - are __MY__ responsibility! If you do not halt the advance of your fleet you __will__ start a war you have __NO__ chance of winning!"_ The human declared.

_The __nerve__ of this human! To outright state that his measly race, with ships that ours could destroy in a microsecond, could destroy _ours_?!_

"Then may whatever god, gods, goddess, or goddesses you worship have mercy upon you. Because we won't." The admiral declared, before cutting the human off of the communicator, "All fleets, _forward!_ I don't want a single human ship left in this void before we move to their planet." And with that, the Turian First and Second fleets rocketed forward, towards the third planet from this system's sun.

When the Turian Navy soared past the fourth planet from the sun - an ugly, rust-colored red planet - the scanners and sensors in the ships started blaring and declaring enemy contacts.

"Admiral! There's something on the red planet, I think it - - It's firing! It's some sort of planetary defense cannon, it just took out a cruiser!" Declared an engineer.

"Divert three frigates and a cruiser and clear that planet, everyone else - -"

"It just took out six frigates! This thing's firing speed is incredible, as if it isn't limited by heat sinks, like our weapons are!"

"_Take it out -"_

"Admiral! We're detecting an enemy attack force, estimated five hundred ships, mostly ranging from cruisers to Dreadnoughts and…" The communications officer cut herself off, "Wait that can't be right."

"What?!" The Admiral was visibly shaken, but only slightly so, he felt as if - with the introduction of the apparently numerous planet-based defense cannons - he was losing control of this fight.

"We're detecting ship that is 3.7 kilometers in length, like _nothing_ we saw at the other planet."

"Compare the sizes to known Human vessels, use the data we extracted from their AI's." Ordered the Admiral.

A moment later, the ratio appears on the holographic screen, the enormous human vessel - a dreadnought, the captain assumed - completely dwarfed the cruisers and frigates underneath it, but there was a ship of a third - and fourth - class on the comparison sheet.

"How many classes of ships do these humans have?!" Demanded the Admiral.

"One moment, checking retrieved databases…" A few moments pause, during which the Turian and Human Navies edged closer and closer to firing range, "The classes are as follows, in smallest to largest size: Frigate, 'Destroyer', 'Space-Craft Carrier', Dreadnought, and Flagship."

"Sir! Enemy within firing range! They're readying weapons!"

"We found the planetary cannon, we've destroyed it but it's got some sort of - - Nuclear detonation detected! The frigates that went in to find it have been incinerated!"

"They use _nuclear weapons_ on their own planets?!"

"We saw this at the other planets, this shouldn't be a surprise!" Said the Admiral, "All ships, get targeting solutions." He ordered.

"Targeting solutions acquired." Said a communicator after a few moments of silence.

"Fire at will!"

As the Turian armada fired it's Mass Accelerator weapons, the Human advanced-attack-force did the same with it's magnetic accelerator guns. The Mass Accelerators soared across the void at a speed much faster than the Rail Gun slugs, and slammed into the unshielded human ships only a few moments after. The human weapons' projectiles slammed into the Turian ships. Dozens of dozens of Turian Frigates were severely damaged - some outright destroyed, when their shields failed to recognize the Magnetic rounds as valid threats, and several dozen cruisers were injured in the impacts. Upon checking, Admiral Valast was incredibly pleased to see that - like the ones at the previous planet - the human ships had _no_ kinetic barriers, and as a result, had been utterly destroyed by the Mass Accelerator guns. However, those ships were the ones that were labled by their computers as 'Frigates', and even then, a significant amount survived the Turian volley. The higher class ships, the 'Destroyers', the Dreadnoughts, and the 'Flagship', all showed very little sign of damage. All of the human ships responded to the Turian volley with another of their own. The Admiral watched as dozens upon dozens of his ships disappeared off the radar - sometimes two at a time! - when the human slugs slammed into the Turian ships.

"All ships, concentrate fire upon the larger vessels, their armor is thick, but not impenetrable!" Ordered the Admiral, as his own ship shuddered as it's powerful cannon fired, and tore into one of the enemy ships.

"Sir! Enemy launching missiles!"

"Activate GARDIAN laser defense systems!"

"Understood."

* * *

A good hour and fifteen minutes had passed, since Jason Whyte had stopped getting updates from the Advanced Attack Force. Preliminary reports had shown that both the Turians and the Humans were both equally good at killing each other, and shredding each others' ships, but the Turians hopelessly outnumbered the AAF, and to send any other ships would leave Earth open for a possible stealth attack. Whyte hated to admit it, but after reports came in that the Turians were regrouping, and surrounding the human ships, he knew that the battle for Martian space was already lost.

"Director are you _absolutely certain_ there was no other option?" Asked a representative from the UN.

"Sir, I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty, the Turians struck first. We gave them the chance to heave-to, and they responded by flipping us the bird." Said Jason Whyte.

"The SIGMA Operatives aren't even here yet, you realize."

"Yes sir."

"And at the rate the Turians are tearing through the advanced-guard, they'll hit earth within the week."

"Yes sir."

"How did this happen?!" Demanded the representative, "We were _ready_, we were _prepared_, and they're about to burn through our defenses!" He shouted.

"The Turians have incredibly advanced technology, Mass Accelerator weapons, high-grade kinetic barriers, we could never be _ready_… We could only be prepared, to put it simply, we were _never_ ready.." Whyte said in his defense.

The representative shook his head, "You say this new WMD that we've got that… McGraw guy, working on. It'll guarantee us victory?" He asked.

"He says it will work. Victory is… Another story." Said Whyte.

The UN Representative sighed, "Give it to me… _Straight_… Director. Do you think we stand a chance of winning?"

Jason Whyte thought long and hard about his answer, "I don't know, sir. The possibility exists… But… I don't know. Our ships are more effective than their's, but they outnumber us, and -" He's interrupted.

_"Director! _We got communications back!They're engaging a flagship! You need to see this!" Shouted someone over the intercom.

"On screen."

* * *

"Captain! All ships reporting catastrophic destruction!"

"Captain! Armor integrity at seventy two percent!"

"Rail Guns and missile pods reloading, captain!"

"I don't know how effective our armor will be against the big ships' guns, sir!"

Captain David Shepard closed his eyes tight, as he tried to come up with a solution to the problem at hand.

_Flee? They'll just shoot us in the back. Ram into them? We may not do anything. We __know__ the anti-rail guns do damage, one shot severely damaged the destroyers… _He sighed, _Only one choice._

"All heads of shifts, report in. Do we stay and fight? Or do we turn tail and run?" He asked the ship.

Several seconds passed by in silence, "Engineering reports to stay, captain."

"Main battery reports minimal damage, they vote to stay and fight."

"Navigation here, we'll shoot you ourselves if you take us out of this fight."

"Crew Quarters here, not many of us _here_, but we want to stay and fight."

And just as quickly as he asked, the rest of the ship reported to stay. "Alright. Deploy all fighters and unmanned drones, Leeroy, how good are your attempts to get into their systems?"

_"I've got to minimize my cybernetic presence, Captain. They've somehow figured out how to hack into the AI network, using a backdoor into our systems - an ingenious idea, by the way. Put us down hard if we were to ever rebel, frankly I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself."_

"Focus, Leeroy."

_"Right."_ Said the AI, "_I've broken in to a vast majority of the alien fleet's systems, but haven't done anything to them."_

"On my command, hack into and shut down _everything_ you can."

_"Understood Captain."_

"Also… Send a message to my wife, Hannah. Tell her when the baby's born, to name it John, is it's a boy, and Jane, if it's a girl." Said the captain, the somber tone impossible to miss.

"_Understood. Message away."_

The captain stood back, and let his head hang, he allowed the stress to envelop him, the fear to consume him, and the anger to eat away at him for five seconds. He knew he wouldn't make it out of this alive, and within that five seconds, he _knew_ he'd be taking out as many of the aliens as he possibly could.

"Navigators, how many simultaneous Warps can we create around the ship, and the enemies?"

"Maximum number of warps that can be positioned by the highest class ship, at any given time, is twelve entry and exit points, captain."

"Alright… Place eleven portals around _all_ ballistic and beam-based point-defense weapons, and the eleventh right in front of the main gun."

"And the exit portals?"

"The eleven point-defense portals will be placed in front of the Turians' largest ships, fully automatic fire is _recommended, _as their shields seem to not be able to recognize the slower-moving bullet based weapons, and lasers." Said the Captain, "The main gun's exit portal is to be placed _right_ in front of the enemy flagship."

"Understood."

"Sir! Enemy is moving to surround us, we're being hailed."

"They're handing us the time we need to pull this off, ladies and gentlemen." Said Captain Shepard, "We're not going to waste it. Open up the communications, start positioning the portals."

A minute passed, _"Captain."_ Said a calm, deep, flanged voice from the other end of the communicator, _"You're fleet is dead, and your homeworld is defenseless. You managed to take out four hundred of our ships and damage countless more, but we utterly destroyer hundreds of yours. Do you __really__ believe you can survive this?"_ Asked the alien, but he didn't give Shepard the time to answer, _"Surrender your ship to the Hierarchy. I will personally guarantee you and your crew's safety. If you do not, you will not survive."_

Shepard paused, "Six thousand, one hundred, twenty." He said, "Six thousand one hundred twenty humans have had confirmed deaths at the hands of the _Hierarchy_ -" He spit the last word out with an easily detectable tone of disgust, "Whoever you are, whoever you fight for, you will not defeat us. You will not survive this war. We are the human race -" A navigator gave him a thumbs up from several meters away, indicating that they were ready, "- we have endured _three _world wars, nuclear attacks, terrorist vendettas, and trips to space. We _will_ endure your measly wrath, we _will_ defeat you, because we are Human. It is in our very _nature_ to survive! _FIRE EVERYTHING!"_ He ordered, the ship shuddered and shook as all weapons fire in all directions.

Whatever guns weren't targeting warp portals, were targeting the nearest ships. Whatever missiles weren't soaring through the split-second travel time of warp-space, were soaring through the void and slamming into enemy ships. Every magnetic Accelerator gun in the ship's arsenal was firing through the portals, and slamming into the enemy ships.

_"Sir! Main gun is ready!"_

"FIRE!"

The ship shook violently as the Anti-matter powered Rail Gun fired one shot after another, endlessly until the barrels of said weapon were _forced_ to cool down via void-exposure. Seven rounds tore through the portal on the ship's bow and all slammed into the Turian's flagship. A moment later, the human ship shook, shuddered, danced and exploded as the Turian armada fired shot after shot, missile after missile, and bullet after bullet into the Human Flagship.

"Sir!" Shouted someone over the carnage, explosions and flames, "We count three and a half dozen confirmed destructions, nine confirmed injuries!"

_"We're not done yet!"_ Said the captain, "Full power to main, secondary and emergency thrusters! We're ramming that ship, right there!" He pointed forward, to the ship directly in front of them.

Despite everything, the only things running through Captain Shepard's mind were the proudest moments in his life. When he'd met Hannah, when she'd accepted his marriage proposal - in spite of Alliance fraternization laws -, when he'd been promoted to captain and given the _Samurai's Blade_, when Hannah had told him she was carrying a child; and when he knew he would go down swinging.

"Engines damaged sir! Full remaining power to thrusters, ETA to impact, five seconds!"

"Men!" Declared Shepard, as he watched the enormous ship in front of them get closer with each passing instant, "It was an _honor_ serving with you! God bless us..." The ship was barely a few dozen meters from the humans, "And _god bless humanity!"_

An instant later, the Human flagship slammed into the Turian Dreadnought, and both ships detonated in massive fireballs.

* * *

"That ship... That... Single ship... They… Destroyed a _dreadnought _- SEVEN Dreadnoughts_,_ Admiral! And _dozens_ of Cruisers and frigates!" Declared a communications officer, "And an eighth Dreadnought is reporting _severe_ damage!"

_Seven out of seventeen... This doesn't bode well... But we still have the upper hand... They relied on the Quarians to defend the other planet, so their navy is small, smaller than that of the Volus, if we are lucky. That was everything they had... They are defenseless..._ The Admiral rationalized "All ships, move forward. Frigates heading the pack, Cruisers following, Dreadnoughts at the rear." He orders, "The damaged dreadnoughts and five ships of each class are to remain here to pick up _Turian_ survivors." Finished the Admiral, before his orders are carried out.

* * *

Christopher McGraw was working at a speed that made many of the scientists in the facility dizzy. He would go from designing machines, to writing down notes on the holographic interface he'd created, to actually _making_ the machines. In the four hours he'd been working, several prototype machines had been created, and one had been tested; said prototype promptly disintegrated itself, but McGraw still proclaimed that "It worked!"

Several dozen scientists had attempted to help him, but quickly excused themselves when they saw him working at a level they couldn't comprehend. Several would remark at how _amazed_ they were, that this man hadn't gone to the Director of the AATF, or hadn't been given unlimited - or at the very least, vast amounts of - funding yet. His assistants, the Quarian Admiral, Talo'Zorn Vas Earth, and his AI, Gladys, were among the few that could keep up with him, and the former even had to excuse herself to collect her thoughts many a time.

What would amaze the scientists many times would be the speed in which McGraw would transition between work, one moment he would be working on some sort of anti-matter device, the next he would move on to constructing some sort of shield generator, which he would turn on and begin slamming into with a mallet. The shield generator had actually been the target of the anti-matter weapon's first test, but it hadn't had time to prove it's worth due to the untimely disintegration of the anti-matter device.

"So.. What, do you think this guy's _on_ something?" Asked a human scientist, as she leaned against a water cooler.

"I heard he had some sort of mental disability, it made him an absolute _genius_, but insanely awkward in common interactions." Said another scientist.

"I call bullshit on that one, I remember watching him talk to the Quarians back during First Contact, he just waltzed right up to them and shook their hands, talked to them as if they were his friends." A third stated.

"I heard of some mental disability, it completely retards one of the emotional centers in the brain, in return of a _massive_ over-development of another area."

"That sounds about right, but I wonder what he's suffering from lack of development?"

"_I_ know what's wrong with 'im." Said a Scottish-sounding man, as he took a sip of his water, "You see, 'couple decades ago, Jason McGraw was tasked with finding a way to increase human intelligence. In response, Jason starts looking into cybernetic implants, designed to make eidetic memory, and make the mind more receptive to knowledge. Problem was, he wouldn't ever get the clearance to perform human trials."

"Oh… God."

"That's right. He augmented 'is _only son_ with the Brain Booster. It worked amazingly, Chris - two at the time - learned basic math in a week, and division and multiplication after a month. However there were… Side effects." Said the Scott, "McGraw Senior learned one day, after scanning his child's brain, that areas of the brain were being overwritten to make way for more intelligence. Not _much_ of the brain, but enough to make a noticeable effect on McGraw Junior. You see, the Brain Booster overrode much of McGraw's personal emotions. Not things like happiness, or joy, but unimportant things, like rage, sorrow, and love." He explained, "When the Alliance learned about his illegal experiments, they cut his funding and ended the project."

"That's awful…" A female human said, before she turned to look at Chris, who was in another room, working diligently, "Just… Awful."

Conversations like this would go on for a half hour, before the scientist's break would end, and they would go back to work. Chris had commandeered the entire lab, and had entire teams of scientists working on energy shields and integration with starships, and others working on reliable, cheap, and easy production of anti-matter.

* * *

It took only an hour for the Turian first and second fleets to soar across the void, and reach the Earth. Admiral Valast was feeling proud of himself, despite the fact that _seven_ Dreadnoughts had been lost under his command. [Losing one Dreadnought was unthinkable, two was inconcievable, _seven_ in _one_ battle was a feat that had _only_, ever been seen during the Krogan Rebellions]. He saw the state of the Human planet, 'Roof', and he immediately saw the one fatal flaw that all species fell victim to, when they began colonizing planets: The humans had done so too quickly. The _less_ than hundred ships guarding 'Roof' was proof of that, they'd yet to develop their military and their navy to a point where they _could_ concievably hold and defend three targets, simultaneously. The scanners on the Dreadnought couldn't pick up any other ships in the system, apart from the Turian ones, so Valast was completely sure that the five hundred they'd obliterated were all that the Humans had. No one dared mention the Quarian Migrant Fleet, however, despite the assured victory Valast knew was to come, he was still indescribably angry over the fleet's losses, hundreds of cruisers and frigates, and _seven_ Dreadnoughts. He knew, as did the rest of the fleets, that they would make the humans pay, for every Quarian they were harboring, and for every Turian they'd killed, ten humans would be buried.

At least, that's what they thought before they were hailed, and their scanners once again lit up as if it was Ascendance Day.

_"_Activate Communications." Said Valast, forgetting - or out right _ignoring_ - to ask what the numbers were.

Silence, for several moments, before, _"Admiral Valast... Welcome to Earth."_

"Sir! Weapons fire!"

"I'm detecting cruiser - and _above! - _sized satelite-based Mass Accelerator weaponry!"

"Sir! The Enemy numbers have come in! You need to know!"

"Admiral, they've got _seventeen thousand ships!" _Silence, after the scanner made her declaration. Valast didn't believe it, as he saw the brief flashes of white light that coincided with weapons fire. A veritable wall of magnetically accelerated slugs were speeding across the void, and towards the Turian Armada.

"Seventeen thousand ships?" He repeated, "We've twenty thousand." He felt his hands shaking, slowly he was realizing he'd made a mistake, in attacking these people, "We've an advantage... All ships are to fire at will." His flanged voice shook with the effort of keeping calm, it had cost him just under a half thousand ships, just to take out the same number of human ships, and though he wouldn't admit it, he - and everyone else - knew that they'd only been able to take out so many, with so 'few' losses, because of the raw firing power of their dreadnoughts - of which, they were now numbering at _half_ the maximum they'd been afforded.

"Orders away sir! Firing at will!" Responded the communications officer, as he and his subordinates sent out the Admiral's orders.

"Admiral! Admiral Sjorn is on the line, it's priority one!"

"Send it through." Said Valast, as the vid-screen in front of him lit up.

_"Admiral Valast, are you INSANE?!"_ Demanded Admiral Ross Sjorn, the captain of the Turian Dreadnought, _Fury_, and Admiral of the Turian Second fleet.

"We are following orders, sir." Valast noted that this call was being made from Sjorn's personal quarters, most likely so the rest of the crew wouldn't hear what he had to say.

_"I'm getting reports AS WE SPEAK, we've already lost seventy three vessels in this battle alone! The Humans have only lost sixteen!"_ The Admiral declared.

"We were _ordered_ to attack the Humans... Admiral."

_"That was when you assured the Councilor that the Humans were an immediately post-space flight species, with a fleet smaller than the Hanar! Now we see that they've got a naval fleet nearly as large as the Salarian's, with technology that rivals - and most likely surpasses! - the Asari, in terms of advancement and uniquity! We almost lost _five hundred_ ships when the Humans met us at the red planet! Seven of those ships were Dreadnoughts, and two of those Dreadnoughts were destroyed by the planetary defense cannon! ONE CANNON! Now they've got dozens, backed up by thousands of ships, from frigate to super-dreadnought! This is a fight we should _not _undertake!"_ Shouted the Admiral.

"We... Were..."

_"Damn the orders! In the fight for the red planet - alone! - we suffered immense, and irreperable losses! Do you know how much it takes to make a SINGLE Dreadnought? And how long it takes? They destroyed SEVEN! And that was when they had five hundred ships! Now they've got seventeen thousand! The second you disconnect, I'm making the order for the second fleet to retreat, and I pray to the spirits that -" _Suddenly, the feed went dead, no static, no disconnect tone, just a blank, black screen.

"We lost the _Fury!_"

"Enemy damages at ninety six ships!"

"Estimated friendly casualties at one hundred seventeen, sir! And rising with every moment! We need to do something!"

"They took out _Menae's Speed!"_

"Those satelite guns are tearing through several ships at a time! And their point-defense weapons are too much, whenever a fighter gets near the thing, they get torn apart!"

"Sir! The enemy is launching fighters! Thousands!"

"Another cruiser just got taken out!"

"A frigate just tried going for the engines of one of the larger ships, a veritable fleet of fighters just overwhelmed it and brought it down! _Fighters_, sir!"

"Admiral Sjorn's confirmed KIA, Orders, sir?!"

Valast sighed, and took many deep breaths, this was _not_ what he'd planned to be doing today. He sincerely thought it would be a 'routine' invasion, a quick shock-and-awe type engagement, but when his ship shuddered as it's main cannon fired, he was only reminded of the fact that he was wrong. The stress of the situation was slowly bearing down upon him, as was the armada of Human ships as they approached. He looked at one of his scanners, and saw that his ships were disappearing in pairs, while the enemy ships would only do so after several of his ships mobbed the eenemy and overwhelmed it.

"How many Frigates do we still have?" He asked, slowly forming a plan that, _unless_ it was succesful, would turn out horribly for everyone involved.

"Frigate casualties at less than ten percent, sir."

"Then I want every single frigate to perform a split-second FTL jump. Those apparently can't be traced by these humans... They are to breech the enemy line and begin landing troops on the Earth!"

"Sir? Without the support from the atmosphere there's no way to guarantee a victory, with those odds!" Pointed out a scanner.

"We start landing ground troops, and the humans will break off a good portion of their fleet to take out the frigates. When they do that, the cruisers and the remaining Dreadnoughts can roll in and hit them while they run." Explained Valast.

"You mean... Shoot them in the _back_... Sir?"

"The first and second fleets are the _largest_ in the Turian Hierarchy. When combined, we could - on numbers alone - destroy the Batarians, the Volus, and the Hanar fleets _combined_. With just one thousand ships donated from the Third and Border fleets, we could - again, on numbers alone - destroy the Salarians. With just over twenty thousand ships, the first and second fleets are the absolute brunt, and _might_ of the Turian Navy. And these... Humans... Are tearing through us as if we aren't even here. Both we and they are suffering heavy casualties, but if these patterns keep up, and we don't land on their planet, we will quickly lose our advantage in numbers, and then we would lose the battle. If victory means shooting the enemy as they turn to defend their home... Then so be it." Said Valast.

"I... Understood... Sending out the orders."

* * *

The Human Systems Alliance Summer Fleet was, to say the very least, the single most _powerful_ fleet to have ever been assembled in Human history. Numbering at over seventeen _thousand_ ships, and counting, with hundreds of ships of varying types, the Summer fleet - at half strength - could wipe out the United Nations' respective 'Wet' navies in a few hours. It was calculated by many AI that, if every single war ship to have _ever_ existed in Human history, were to band together and go toe-to-toe with the Summer Fleet, the Earth fleet would lose in a month, maximum. The Summer fleet had enough power to destroy the Earth in just a few hours, and that was _without_ the use of Nuclear Weapons. The Alliance Navy - and by proxy, the Summer Fleet - had been forged with a single goal: Defend the Human race from the ultimate unknown: Extra-terrestrial life. When the Prothean ruins had been discovered upon Mars, the Humans of the twenty second century were met with a mind shattering realization, that they were not alone in the universe. This struck fear into nearly everyone's - who _knew's_ - heart, and therefor, they knew they had to prepare. So ever since tlanding on Mars, and discovering the ruins, ship after ship, fleet after fleet, and killing machine after killing machine was forged, non-stop, even after First Contact was made with the Quarians. [In total, six ships had been completed after meeting the Quarians, and four were put into production - one of those four being a Dreadnought-class ship.] When the Summer Fleet numbered at ten thousand, the Alliance said they wouldn't stop until they hit fifteen, and when they hit fifteen, they wouldn't stop until they hit twenty, or thirty, or forty, or maybe even _fifty thousand ships._ The Alliance's biggest motivator, and their biggest source of income, was the fact that they had no idea what they would be going up against if they fought an alien race.

To say they were dissapointed - in a sense -, now that they _were_ facing that fear of the unknown, would be an understatement. The Turian's ships were extremely vulnerable to hacking attempts from AI, and after every AI in the Sol System learned of the 'back door', Jason Whyte gave them permission to 'shut' the door until the conclusion of this war. This meant that the Turians temporary ace-in-the-hole, which had caused the destruction of the advance-attack-fleet, was now gone. The Turians now were absolutely defensless against the AI's, which would shut off systems in their ships, overheat their weapons, overload their engines, or even turn their ships against each other. From what the Alliance could learn, the Turian equivalent of an AI was, to put it lightly, retarded, in comparison to a Human AI. Human AI's could hack the Turian 'V'I's in just a moment, and the Turian counter hackers, while efficient, almost immediately lost effectiveness after they lost the backdoor access into the AI's programming.

One of the advantages the Turians had was their advantage in numbers, but they were quickly losing this advantage due to the Alliance's unseen advantage in their technological inferiority. Where the Turians were, in a sense, much more advanced than the Humans, the Humans were more advanced than the Turians in that same sense. The Turian weapons fired at an incredibly faster velocity than the Human weapons, but they were designed to flatten or shatter on impact [Data recovered from the 'Codex', both the Quarian edition, and the up to date Turian edition, says that this breaking apart and/or flattening was to increase the damage done. Shattering would do more damage than simply punching through it, like a bullet would do], and human armor was designed to protect against Rail Guns, which did the absolute opposite, where the Turian Mass Accelerator Guns's flattened and/or shattered, the Human _Magnetic_ Accelerator Guns were designed to fire at a fraction of the speed of light, and pierce any armor the slug comes across. So not only was Turian armor largely innefective against Alliance weapons, but Alliance armor was almost absolutely effective against the Turian weapons. Alliance Frigates, which were lightly armored - to give them more maneuverability - would be destroyed with one or two shots from a Turian gun, but Destroyers, Carriers, Dreadnoughts and Flagships all took five plus shots for their armor to even be pierced. Alliance AI's noted that a lot of the Turians' destructive power came from what the Turians called _their_ Dreadnoughts, [However, in comparison to Human Dreadnoughts, they were much smaller, more comparative to a Human Destroyer, in size.], however they had no where _near_ the numbers of Dreadnoughts the Humans had, where the Turians had approximately ten to thirteen Dreadnoughts upon arriving at Earth, the Humans had upwards of four thousand Dreadnoughts. Human AI's assumed that the reason the Turians couldn't mass produce Dreadnoughts, was twofold: Firstly, they were limited by some alien treaty, which limited the numbers of Dreadnoughts the Turians could make, and secondly, they relied upon Element Zero for Faster than Light travel, and from what the AI's could understand, the larger the ship was, the more Element Zero was needed to lighten it's mass and propel it to FTL speeds. [Human ships ran on anti-matter fuel sources, and warp-technology, meaning that the Human ships could technically be the size of small planets, and they could still use warp tech, whereas a Turian ship of the same size would need several moons worth of Element Zero to do the same thing.].

One thing the Humans were quick to take advantage of, was the practical indestructability of their Flagships, when pitted against the Turian ships. The Flagship's armor was among the thickest, and most protective in all of the Alliance Navy. That, paired with the Anti-Matter Rail Gun, made any fight the Flagship entered a fight to be won by the Alliance. The only ships that could do damage to the Alliance flagship were the Turian Dreadnoughts, and it was for that reason the Flagships were amassing to focus fire against the Turian Dreadnoughts. The Flagships held an advantage in numbers, as well, when compared to the Turians. One disadvantage the Flagships had against the _Alliance's_ Dreadnoughts was their size, the Flagship was one of the largest, most lethal, most efficient, most deadly, and most destructive of the Alliance's fleet, but they were also the most expensive to make, and therefor the Alliance only could afford to field fifteen of them [Fourteen, now that the _Samurai's Blade_ had been destroyed above Mars.] There were rumors circulating in the Navy though, that a Flagship made of Tuning Metals was being made, and that it would be the single largest, most protected, and deadliest ship in Human history. Though most everyone was sure that the Tuning Ship would be a one of a kind, because if a regular Flagship cost countless dollars to make, a Tuning ship would have to cost upwards of trillion_s_ of dollars to make.

"Director, several _thousand_ Turian ships just disappeared off the map!" Said a scanner, ripping Alliance Director Jason Whyte from his thoughts.

"Are they retreating?"

"No sir, just the opposite in fact, they're - - Sir! The contacts just reappeared!"

"Where?!"

"Behind our defensive line, right above Earth's atmosphere! They're deploying thousands, upon _thousands_ of fighters and drop ships!"

"Deploy the Marines and the OD3's! Get every single ground unit we have and get them deployed! Contact the UN, tell them to increase their readiness levels to the maximum!" Jason paused, "This is it people, we're not fighting _above_ Earth anymore... We're fighting above... below... _on..._ We are fighting... FOR the Earth!" He declared, "And we will not lose!" His declaration was met with cheers, as his orders and his words were broadcasted throughout the fleets. "Send a few thousand Frigates, several hundred Destroyers, and five Dreadnoughts to meet the Turians in atmosphere, buy the UN Armed Forces, the Marines, the N7 and the SIGMA Special Operatives all the time you can!" He ordered.

"Yes sir! Orders away!"

* * *

_"WHAT!?"_ Demanded Admiral Jorran'Zorah, _"The __Turians__ are attacking __Earth!?"_ He screamed, outrage, anger, and frustration all apparent in his voice.

"That is what Admiral Talo'Zorn reported, before communications went dead, yes." Said Sri'Zoran.

"How did they _find_ Earth? Don't the humans have a contingency plan for this? The… Rug Contingency? Summer Protocol?" Demanded the admiral.

"Admiral Zorah, we are all angered by this series of actions, but outright rage will bring forth rash actions, we must consider this -"

_"NO! Admiral Shein!"_ Shouted Zorah, "The humans _saved_ our species! And they are fighting a superior enemy, and _dying_ in order to continue to protect us, and their people! We should _not_ have allowed this to happen, and we CAN NOT allow it to continue!"

"Admiral Zorah, the Humans gave the Turians -"

_"I KNOW_ what chance the Humans gave the Turians! I _heard_ the recordings! The words they spoke on our behalf were words that have _never_ been uttered in such a way, in such a meaning, when referring to our species! The humans _respect_ us, and we're sitting here arguing about how we should support them!" Shouted Admiral Zorah.

"What do _you_ propose we do?" Asked Zoran, kindly, and calmly.

"We have the single largest fleet in the _galaxy_, that, over the last few months, has been meticulously cared for and repaired by our saviors the humans! At the height of the Migrant Fleet's power, we _could have_ engaged the entire Turian Navy, and the chance exists that we could have won!" Began Zorah, "Now, with a military power the likes of which, _no one_ has seen by our side, and the Migrant Fleet repaired, and once again helmed by us, it is our _duty_ to revive that which condemned us, take to the skies in a fleet of fifty seven thousand, six hundred twelve ships, _all_ armed to the teeth, and move as quickly as Quarianly possible for Earth, to assist in the counter offensive!"

"What you're suggesting could make us an enemy of the Council… Even with the humans on our side, that is a war we _can not_ win." Said Shein, slowly.

"And you must remember, a _vast_ majority of the Migrant Fleet's ships are _live ships... _They aren't designed for warfare... And retro-fitting them with Human weaponry would take far too long." Added Zorah.

"Listen, you Bosh'tets!" Shouts Zorah, "As you deflect my statements you whittle away at what little honor our race has left! For _once_, in your ancestors-damned life, grow a little hipbone, and make a daring move!"

Silence ruled the room for several minutes, as the admiral's words are digested. Sri'Zoran was the first to realize the _many_ points Jorran'Zorah made, but, predictably, Tierz'Shein was the first to speak, "I support Admiral Zorah's decision."

Zorah's eyes widened, and Zoran's jaw hit his face-plate.

"All… In favor?" Asked Zoran.

"I." Said Zorah,

"I." Said Shein,

"I." Said Zoran.

"Then we are in agreement… However… We will need men and women to bring the fleet back to fighting strength. I do not know how many will volunteer to step back aboard the ships that condemned them mere months ago…" Shein stated.

"Perhaps we should simply _ask_ the populace… Humans have surprised us before, who is to say that our _own_ will not surprise us?" Asked Sri.

* * *

"It is currently unknown why Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers are deploying all across Earth," Said a reporter woman in a suit/dress, as behind her, fiery meteor-like objects fell from the sky, and crashed into the ground, to reveal the armored, armed figures inside, as they rushed to form squads, and squads formed battalions, all of this happened in front of the relatively peaceful image of Moscow in the background, "Or why all military forces have been placed in their highest alert levels, and why most major cities began evacuations an hour ago, but many believe that the total cessation of inter-stellar communications with Eden, and Roof and even the few Martian colonies, may be a factor."

* * *

"As you can see behind me, for the first time in Human History, TITAN Mechanized forces have been deployed for use. All models, ranging from the iconic Titans, to the lesser known SCORPIONS, WOLVES, and so on have been deployed world wide. The towering machines are littering Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, London, and most - if not, _all_ - other national cities all across Earth." The reporter indicated behind him, where dozens of enourmous, seventeen feet tall machines took up positions around Atlanta, Georgia, accompanied by the _much_ smaller machines that resembled animal and insect-shaped tanks, such as spiders, turtles, wolves, and scorpions. The human shaped Titan models were enourmous, easily dwarfing their 'brothers', the animal-models, and their makers, the humans; and - with their size alone - they could topple the skyscrapers they couldn't conquer in size. Those that weren't taking up defensive positions all across the borders of the city, were all directing traffic, being easily distinguishable, and visible, in the obvious hysteria that came with a sudden mass-evacuation. They were all non-descript black and gray paint schemed, though their chests all held either the flag of the United States [Or whatever nation they were made in], or the Systems Alliance symbol. All had enourmous weapons on their backs, and their arms. The weapons on their backs were easily recognizable as Rail Guns [TITAN Mechs were the only war machines, apart from naval ships and MAKO tanks, that were able to effectively wield a Rail Gun.], and on their arms were high-calibre gattling guns. "The Unites States Government, as well as the Human Systems Alliance, has advised the immediate evacuation of _every_ major population center... As... What is that?" The reporter trailed off, as everyone in view of the camera - even the AI piloted TITAN's - seemed to simply freeze, stop what they were doing, turn around, and look at the sky.

* * *

"In other news, military forces have been placed in DEFCON 1, or Defense Condition 1, changing from the earlier declaration of DEFCON 2, earlier this morning. As you can see behind me -_"_ The reporter indicated the iconic image of New York City's massive skyline, behind her, "- Dozens upon dozens of army ships, helicopters, vehicles, TITAN Mechs, and sea-based naval vessels are moving in to secure the city and continue evacuation. Above the sky-" The camera pans up to reveal a view of a blue sky, no clouds are seen, instead the camera sees hundreds of fiery smoke trailing falling drop-pods"-we can see hundreds of hundreds of OD3's, or Orbital Drop Death Dealers, currently rocketing towards the city itself. We are currently unaware of what may be happening, but whatever it is, it is global, as Alliance forces are deploying in Russia, China, the UK, Europe, the USAS, and the United States. All aformentioned nations have - almost simultaneously - been placed in highest alert and have begun evacuating all major population centers, such as Moscow, New York, Atlanta, Paris, and so on." She paused, "Experts believe that the evacuations may be in response to reports that the Terrorist Organization 'Terra Firma' has hijacked an Alliance Flagship and is currently en-route to hit a center of commerce with a Magnetic Strike. These reports are obviously wrong, as Alliance Flagships are the single most protected, lethal, efficient military vessels… Known… To man… What is that?" The camera spun around, to reveal several massive, ships breech the skyline.

_"Uh… Those doesn't look like an Alliance ships." _Said a muffled voice from behind the camera, _"I know because my brother is in the Alliance, and he had me quiz him every day about the types, makes, and models of Alliance ships, Human and Quarian, that isn't Alliance!"_

"Um… We don't quite know what is going on, but it appears as if we may be in the midst of another - - _OOOH my god_!" Proclaimed the reporter, as one of the ships opened fire, and the accelerated slug slammed into the sky-scraper it had been aiming at.

Immediately thereafter hundreds of shuttles began pouring out of each of the ships, and the air was quickly filled with ballistic and cannon fire as the human forces on the ground engaged the enemy forces moving in from the air. The TITAN Mechs quickly ripped the Rail Guns off their backs and started firing at the ships, while the turrets on their arms came to life and shot at the flying shuttles. Tanks on the ground, and the ships at sea, as well as all the soldiers and air-craft between, all almost simultaneously began firing at the approaching enemy contacts.

"It… Appears that New York is under attack from a hostile force!" Said the reporter, the camera starts shaking, _"Oh my god!"_ Says the reporter, the camera whirled around and the front half of an enflamed Alliance destroyer is seen hurtling towards them. The camera was thrown to the ground as the reporter and the cameraman fled for their lives. A moment later, the shattered Destroyer slams into the ground, and the camera feed goes silent.

* * *

"From all reports, Russian armed forces working in tandem with the Alliance are fighting an incredible force of armed aliens! We are getting an official update from police forces in the area, who are also fighting the alien forces, all citizens of major population centers are ordered to evacuate immediately - - _LOOK!"_ Screamed the Russian reporter woman, the camera whirls around to reveal four Alliance frigates as they breech the cloud barrier.

The frigates immediately opened fire upon the alien ships, which flared their engines and tried to evade the Rail Gun shots, but failed to evade both the Frigate Fire, and the TITAN fire from below. The alien ships reoriented itself to fire upon the Alliance Frigates, who all broke formation to dodge the enemy fire. The Frigates regrouped and continued the furious assault upon the alien ships, which were outnumbered, before they breeched the ships' armor, and they were hit with a multitude of ballistic, rail-gun, and missile armaments issued from the Alliance frigates and the TITAN ground forces, which almost immediately switched to their arm-mounted balistic weapons to combat the alien ground forces.

"Alliance forces have just successfully attacked and destroyed alien starships!" Shouted the reporter, over the howling winds created by the alien ship's explosion, it falls to the ground, creating a large shockwave and making several buildings shake on their foundations.

* * *

"The Self Defense Force is desperately trying to fend off the invaders! But by all reports, Tokyo has already been lost! Anyone watching this broadcast, flee the city!" Shouted a reporter, as he lugged the camera and microphone with him. A video of the mass panic created by the fleeing civilians could be seen, "The Systems Alliance has failed to comment on what is going on, but by all means, save yourselves! Flee the cities! The invaders seem to be focusing on - - AAAAUGH! Screamed the reporter, before the camera flew out of his hands. It spun several times before stopping just in time to see a six-foot tall, avian creature gunning down the reporter.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_TITAN Mechanized Forces:_

Concieved in 2115, TITANmechs were designed to be the 'Next Generation' in unmanned warfare. The first-generation TITANs [And also their namesake] were, in essence, titans. The average height for a Gen1 Titan was about 18 feet, and they retained a human appearance. Generation 1 Titans are capable of wielding 'wet-navy' calibre Rail Guns [Though they are sized down considerably, so they _can_ wield it], and have two gattling guns on each arm. They are also equipped with several dozen missile pods, which are located in the forearms and palms. Generation 1 TITANs aren't the most numerous [That honor goes to the Turtle model, though Gen1 Titans are still in production] but they are _by far_ the most capable of destruction. Titans are - ever since the dawn of AI's - piloted solely by Artificial Inteligences, and are immensely capable machines [Gen1 TITANs have become the 'face' of the unmanned forces of the Alliance and the UN's Armed Forces]

Generation 2 [And above] TITANs are commonly reffered to as the 'Rodent' mechs, as they were immensely sized down so to eliminate the enourmous costs of creating a 'True' Titan.

The most numerous TITANs are the Turtles. They are, in essence, 'True' walking tanks, they carry immensely thick armor, MAKO-Class Rail Guns, and one balistic Machine Gun. The Turtles are [As the name implies] aesthetically comparable to the Earth-animal, the 'Turtle', and are actually more comparable than they care to admit, as they are among the slowest TITANs on the 'market'.  
The Wolves are used for stealth purposes, and are the smallest TITANs in existance. They are [As the name implies] aesthetically designed after the Earth animal, the Wolf. Unlike Turtles or Titans, Wolves only carry machine guns and balistic weapons, as opposed to Rail Guns. Wolves are equipped with optical camoflauge, and are the fastest TITANs in existance [Maximum speed for a wolf was a 78 MPH running speed, work is being made to breech the 100 mark.]  
The Scorpions are the thirt most numerous, and the second largest mechs in the TITAN Mech Forces. They are [As the name implies], aesthetically designed after the Earth insect, the Scorpion. Their main weapon is a directed energy weapon, located in the machine's 'Tail'. This weapon is an unintended weakness in the mech, as it causes the machine to have the lowest - by far - range of the other TITAN models. [Even the Wolf's main weapon has a larger effective distance than the Scorpion's energy cannon], with an average maximum distance of 1.01 miles. This causes the Scorpion to be used as a close-range mech, most often used for direct troop support, and base defense.

All modern-day TITANs are piloted by Artificial Inteligences, and number - collectively - at less than six hundred thousand.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

November 4th, 2201

* * *

"Frank, the fighting in New York has to be among the fiercest on the planet!" Declared the human reporter, as she simultaneously held the camera a few inces from her face, and ducked behind some rubble to avoid the bombs and bullets that polluted the air, "The United States Armed Forces, in tandem with the Alliance Armed Forces, are desperately trying to stave off the alien soldiers as they evacuate the literally millions of civilians still left in the city," She explained, "Already, New York's skyline has been altered forever, as such iconic and long-standing buildings such as the Chrysler building, and the World Trade Center have been obliterated by the alien ships! Dozens of buildings are being fought for, as the aliens make usage of every advantage they can get! Below me, right now, in Times Square, has to be one of the fiercest battles in Human history, as soldiers, police officers, and even firefighters and other civillians are fighting tooth and nail for every square inch of land behind them!" The reporter ambled the camera up, revealing a birds-eye view of the literally thousands of soldiers literring the battlefield below her.

"The sky above us is polluted with hundreds upon hundreds of aerial vehicles, be they attack jets, evacuation helicopters, or gunships, I have unconfirmed reports that civilian air crafts have taken to ramming themselves into the alien ships in desperate attempts to assist the United States and Alliance Air Forces!" This point was punctuated when a jumbled, flaming mess of human and alien craft hurtled past her, and slammed into the ground. Almost immediately, the humans nearest it began using the wreckage as a form of cover, while simultaneously looking for bodies or survivors.

"We've no idea what the aliens want, or why they're attacking, but if anything, we know their goals: Human extinction! Alliance and Government officials have issued warnings nation wide, anyone in a major city or population center is to leave immediately! Anyone not in a city is to lock their doors and barricade their windows, if at all possible, flee to the country! Go to places not marked on the major maps, anywhere that isn't a major population center!" She declared, "Oh _no!"_ She screamed as the building shook with the force of another explosion, the camera fell from her hands and tumbled out the building, the feed ended a few moments after the camera slammed into the ground.

* * *

"Charlotte, the US Navy is doing it's best here on the Californian shore, the alien ships and fighters that have come down to Earth are all leaving their respective battles to deal with the ships at sea, but the Human naval weapons seem to be immensely effective against the alien weaponry!" Shouted the Human reporter, as he stood in front of the camera, his backdrop was very easily recognizable as a US Naval vessel, "Behind us, in Los Angeles, the fighting has to be the fiercest on the planet, as United States forces are working in tandem with Alliance Marines and special forces, desperately trying to evacuate and re-take control of the 'lost sectors' of the city! Police forces and military casualty evacuation helicopters are working tirelessly within the battle, evacuating injured soldiers and civilians alike. Most civilians are being evacuated to off-shore vessels, more often than not the ships within the 'Mothball Fleet', or ancient ships from Earth's naval history." The man was silenced as the ship's deck guns all fired, and in the distance, dozens of alien ships exploded, and the alien mother ship's surface was riddled with the enourmous bullets and even bigger explosions, "I myself happen to be on a World War 2 era 'Battleship', as it's general lack of ammunition stores allow for larger civilian storage. Most alien ships seem to evenly match these ships, as it only takes a few shots for an alien ship to destroy a human sea-based naval vessel, however the United States Naval forces _absolutely_ outnumber the Alien forces, and as such whenever one Human ship is destroyed, twenty others will rise from the ashes to destroy the alien ships." The man put his hand to his ear, obviously being spoken to from the other end of the communicator.

"Yes, Reginald, the aliens are definitely outmatched, from what we've been able to learn, they seem to operate on a different set of technological guidelines when it comes to warfare. For instance, these aliens seem to make exclusive use of an element zero based weapon, which is what their armor is based around. From what I've been able to gather from evacuated ground forces, the aliens _do_, in fact, have a form of energy shielding, but for reasons unknown Human weapons seem to ignore the shields completely, and go straight for the armor, which is made of a thin material, which is easily pierced by the bullet itself." He explained, "I've gotten unconfirmed reports that a veritable 'War of the Worlds' syndrome has come under way, and the aliens are suffering from a myriad of Earth-born diseases, but, as I said, these reports are unconfirmed."

* * *

_"Now, we're going live to a feed from London, Charles, can you hear us?"_

"Yes, Byron I can hear you!" Shouted the reporter, as he desperately adjusted the camera so it could get a proper view of the battlefield, "The fighting here in London is amongst the fiercest on the planet! Royal Marines and Alliance Forces have grinded the alien advance to a crawl, and the Royal Navy and Air Forces are both waging bloody battles on and off shore, it seems that everything is being fought, tooth and nail for, all land, sea, and even the air itself are all being killed to keep control of." He explained, before he ducked his head to dodge a stray bullet, "Now, the TITAN mechs have proven to be invaluable in the ground offensive, as their technology and size attract a large majority of the alien's fire, which give human forces time to gather their wounded and... Retalliate..." The man slowly faded out.

_"Charles? Are you there? What's going on?"_ Asked the news anchor, as the camera feed started shaking violently.

"They did it, Byron!" Shouted the reporter, utter fear etched in his voice, as he adjusted the camera's position, "The aliens just took out Big Ben!" The camera focused, as the massive clock tower could be seen falling in on itself in the distance, "The ash cloud can be seen clearly, even from this far away! One of England's biggest monument has just been _destroyed_ right before our eyes!" He shouted, as a veritable fleet of alien air craft emerged from the smoke and soot, and began shooting at the gound and air forces alike, "It seems that the aliens have used this as a point for a counter-attack, as an endless amount of enemy air craft seem to have just appeared out of nowhere and begin a furious assault!" He shouted, as the air was suddenly filled to the brim with bullets and slugs, the camera shifted to the left, and off in the distance, Royal Navy ships could be seen firing their weapons at alien mother ships and fighters alike, as air-craft carriers deployed everything they had as fast as they could. "The Royal Navy is already responding with a massive aerial defense initiative! It seems that everything, and _anything_ the Navy has is being shot and/or deployed, as I can see literally dozens of aircraft launch every moment, and dozens of bullets and rail slugs are being fired ahead of them!"

_"Have you recieved word on who may be behind these attacks? Any specific names?"_

"Byron, the soldiers down here are referring to the aliens as 'Crows', for simplicity." Said the reporter, "As to their exact name and affiliation, we can only speculate. Many civilians believe that these may be the 'Batarians', that were mentioned when the Quarians met with the United Nations and the Alliance, a few months ago."

_"And what do you think?"_

"I think I'm in the middle of a bloody warzone! I better get a damned raise after this!"

* * *

Aboard the US Destroyer, the _USS_ _Jonathan Storey__,_ Captain Geophrey Cunningham watched as his ship's weapons let loose another torrent of deadly magnetically accelerated Rail Slugs, and conventionally accelerated bullets form the plethora of cannons on the ship. In the distance, rapidly closing the distance between the two, was an alien ship, and it was very obviously angry at this ship in particular. Cunningham wasn't surprised, the _Storey_ had spent a good part of the battle for Georgia's coastline taking out a multitude of ground and aerial units as they appeared from the ship. Cunningham found himself seriously wondering if his ship would make it through the battle with the alien ship. Unlike Alliance battleships, Earth warships were designed with much less thick armor, to allow whatever projectile was to cause them harm, to pass through quickly, and do little more harm than the initial entry and exit wounds. From what the Alliance AI's were telling the UN Armed Forces' AI's, the alien ships' main weapons worked on a principle which was, in essence, designed around ships like the _Storey_, in the sense that the alien weapons weren't meant to pierce, but rather shatter and flatten, to increase damage. That meant that, unlike Alliance ships, which merely had the enemy rounds just bounce off them, with varying sized dents in their armor, the Earth 'wet' ships would actually be seriously damaged with a single shot from the alien ships. It was in light of this, that every gun on the ship was being aimed at the alien ship, and they were all firing as fast as they could.

"Sir, the alien ship is rapidly advancing! They'll be here in three minutes!"

"Alright, activate the warp engines and start launching the missiles. _Make sure_ one missile gets shoved up their asses and destroys the engines!" Ordered Cunningham.

"Aye, sir!"

And with that, the _Storey_ launched half of everything it had. Missiles, bombs, bullets, Rail-Slugs, half of everything the ship was armed with was sent flying through the air and through warp-space, and after a moment, the Alien ship exploded, escape pods flew through the air and into the water, and the ship's remnants slammed into the water along with them.

"Ship destroyed, Captain!" Came a voice, before the entire ship erupted in celebratory 'Hooray!''s.

"Captain, we're getting something else on the radar!" Said someone else, as few moments later, before another ship appeared - literally - out of nowhere, above the remnants of the first. This one was obviously bigger than the first, and if the Captain were to guess, he would say that this one would be comparable to the Alliance Destroyer, in function.

"Captain, all of our weapons are reloading! The only guns we've got are the point-defense turrets!" Supplied someone.

"The ship's angling around for an attack!"

_"One second."_ Said the synthetic voice of the Destroyer's AI, and a moment later, after the engines of the alien ship flared, the ship did a nose-dive into the ocean, as it's insides were plagued with premature missile detonations.

As the _Storey_ surged forth to make sure the ships were dead, the Captain - and the rest of the crew, for that matter - all looked at the AI's holo-disk, as it's holographic depiction [Of a 18th century blue-coat soldier] stared at them expectantly. _"What?"_

"You can do that?" Asked the Captain.

_"I can do many things, it just took me a bit longer than usual because the aliens were trying to force open the backdoor into my systems... An ingenious plan, by the way... Put us down hard if we try to rebel, ala-21st century sci-fi movies."_

"Why didn't you shut down the other ships? Or the ones we shot at above the city!?"

_"First off, the first one, you'd already taken care of. The second one you were vulnerable to, and the ones above the city... Well... that would have done a lot more harm than good."_

The captain was silent for a moment, "Fair enough." He nodded, before something caught his eye, "What's that? Starboard bow, it looks like there's something in the water."

"Captain, we did just blow up two alien ships..."

"No, it looks like... People."

_"Scanning..." _Said the AI, _"The cameras and the scanners show that those are actually the aliens that have been attacking us, Captain. Apparently they... Can't swim."_ Said the AI, as it pulled up a vid-screen of an alien - an odd, avian looking creature, with metalic like skin, mandibles on it's face, and claws on it's hands - flailing around in the water, like a child would the first time he or she entered the pool in his or her life.

"What the hell kind of Naval man doesn't know how to swim, Captain?" Chuckled a crewman.

"The kind that does it's tour in space." Said the Captain, as he thought hard.

"Captain?" Asked someone, as she noticed the hard look on the Captain's face.

Cunningham sighed, "We are not savages, men." He said.

"Sir?" The crew on the bridge was very, obviously confused.

"Those are men over board, roll out the life boats and get resuce teams operational. The second they're on the ship they all get transported to the brig, to be locked down under armed guard."

"Sir! They're slaughtering our people as we speak! Why in God's name should we help them?!" Demanded a crewman.

"To prove that _we're_ the better men. Even the Asians, in World War 3, rescued the enemy ships' crew." Said Cunningham, "Now get to it, all hands, full halt. Men overboard, resuce as many as we can carry, we're getting ourselves some glorified POW's, who will owe us their _lives_, gentlemen. Let us not waste this opportunity."

"Uh... Aye sir..." Said a communicator, before she and the others began relaying the orders. A moment later, the ship grinded to a slow stop, and the emergency crews were casting out lines, throwing out rescue buoys, and setting up the rescue boats, to rescue the - soon to be - enemy prisoners. [All rescue squads carried at least one man with a water-grade assault rifle, just in case.]

* * *

To say that Captain Jun Salom was angry, would be a serious understatement, and if he wasn't flailing about in the spirits-cursed _water_ [Why anyone would construct a fleet based around water, he had no idea], he would more than likely punch the man who said so, in his face. In the last five minutes _alone_, he'd lost his ship, dozens of his crew, and when a cruiser - a_ CRUISER_, for Spirits' sake! - arrived to rescue him and his crew, and promptly did a nose-dive into the water, internally exploding as it did - and throwing him into the water as it did so - infuriated him. And as the enormous human ship rolled right up and halted next to them, he knew he would soon see the savages line up at the edges of the vessel with rifles, and begin to take pot-shots at him and his drowning crew.

So to say he was surprised, when he heard alarms going off, bells ringing, and orders being shouted - in that _foul_ alien language - would be another understatement. He saw the humans - most of whom _weren't even wearing armor! - _appear on the edges of the ship, but instead of rifles, they carried immense bundles of cables and rope, and they threw this rope off of the ship, obviously intending for the Turians to swim over to them and latch onto them for safety. Only problem was, Turians couldn't swim. So the ones that were nearest to the ropes were able to flail and cry their ways to it, and latch on, but the other ones, like Salom, weren't so lucky; so when Humans started lowering dozens of odd vessels from the ship's sides, and began piloting out to the Turians that weren't clawing along the ropes, surprised him even further.

When a human vessel - carrying four humans and six very obviously shaken - and disarmed - Turians arrived next to him, he desperately held a hand out, and felt a - thankfully, clawed - hand grasp his and pull him onto the vehicle.

_"Alright, Captain, we're full, we're heading back to the ship."_ Said the Human, Salom sincerely wished he understood what it was saying.

"Captain, what in the name of the Spirits do you think they are going to do to us?!" Demanded one Turian, his flanged voice shook from fright, it was obvious he feared whatever these aliens may do to him, they'd all heard tales of the _last_ species to use Nuclear armaments on their own planets, and they nearly conquered the _Galaxy_.

"Do not worry, they won't do anything to you as long as I am breathing." Said Salom, as he looked one human directly in it's eyes. He was amazed, in the few moments he took to take in it's appearance, it looked _strikingly_ like an Asari, but this one looked more... Masculine, than an Asari, which had a distinctly feminine aura about them. This human's skin was a very dark, brown color, and his eyes accentuated his skin color. This made Salom pause for a moment, as he realized that the other humans in the vehicle had varying shades of skin, he was quick to wonder if they'd genetically modified their own to produce these variances in skin color, but decided against it. After all, Salom's own _brother_ was a red-skin.

_"What do you _want_, Crow?"_ Asked the human Salom had been staring at.

"I want to see your Captain." Said Salom, hoping the Human hadn't actually just told him to be quiet or die, "I want to ensure he doesn't mistreat my crew."

_"I didn't understand a word of that, Crow."_ Salom wondered what the word 'Crow' was, he assumed it had some sort of negative connotation, given the obvious tone of disgust it had when the Human spoke it, _"You're lucky the Captain's soft."_ The human scowled - or, what Salom recognized as an _Asari_ scowl - _"If it had been up to me, I would have run you all over."_

_"Jack, man, calm down!"_ Said another human, after the vehicle began lifting itself into the air.

_"I'm just saying man, why are we wasting resources on these things? We should've just lined up on deck and taken pot shots at them."_

_"The Captain wouldn't have allowed that."_

_"Well _damn_ what the captain will or will not allow!"_ The dark skinned human was raising it's voice, Salom quickly realized that the situation was growing out of control, but any movement he made caused the vehicle to lurch, and if he made a sudden movement, it would more than likely cast him and his crew back into the accursed sea, _"These fucking Crows are burning Earth! EARTH!"_ It was refering to it's homeworld now, more than likely referring to the fact that the Turians were invading, _"We should just line them all up and burn them alive!"_

_"That's ENOUGH, JACK!" _Shouted a third Human, silencing the loudest one, _"Or you'll be _joining _them in the brig."_

* * *

_"Director Whyte? We're recieving a vid-call from Earth, top priority."_ Said the Flagship's AI, as Alliance Director Jason Whyte went over the current - and counting - casualty reports.

The Turians were making obvious attempts to catch the Alliance Navy in a cross-fire, but the Alliance responded to the Turian Frigates jumping to Earth, by sending their _own_ Frigates to intercept the Turian ones, leaving the nigh-indestructable Destroyers, Dreadnoughts, and Flagships for the rest of the Turian fleet to deal with. The Turians had numbered at twenty thousand when the naval battle had begun, and the humans had numbered at roughly seventeen thousand. Since the fight had begun, however, those numbers were slowly - ever so slowly, much to the dismay of the Director - equalizing. The Turians were focusing almost all of their firing power on the larger Alliance ships, the Destroyers, Dreadnoughts, and Flagships, though whenever they could take a shot at a Frigate, they did, with horrifiying consequences. The Turians currently numbered at roughly eighteen thousand ships - five of those being what the Alliance AI's designated as Dreadnoughts - and the Humans at approximately sixteen hundred, fifty ships. The Turian Dreadnoughts were - obviously - the strongest, most armored, most shielded, and heaviest hitting ships of the pack, and they used this as best they could, as the vast majority of the Turian Dreadnoughts had broken off to get increased range, and bombard the Humans from extended ranges. The Turian Dreadnoughts were capable of taking out Frigates with a single shot, and destroyers with three, but the Human Dreadnoughts and the Human Flagships were practically indestructable when pit even against the Turian's strongest; sure, the Dreadnoughts did damage against the two strongest Human ships, but it took more than ten shots a piece to destroy a Human Dreadnought, and to date only one Human Flagship had been destroyed by the Turians.

"On screen." Said Whyte, shaking his head to clear the thoughts.

_"Director? This is Captain Geophrey Cunningham, United States Navy."_ Said the deep voice of the Earth navy captain, after he appeared on the vid-screen.

"_US_ Navy? Er, this is Director Whyte, what do you need, Captain?" Whyte seriously wondered why a captain from the Earth nations' Armed Forces was calling him, of all people.

_"Director, we've recently come across some... Cargo... That you may be interested in. Aliens, enemy aliens from two downed mother ships."_ Explained the Captain, _"We've got our AI's working on translation software - using Kehlish as the common ground - and... Well, I need orders, sir, I don't know what to do with them."_

"How many prisoners do you have? Any ranking officers?"

_"One kept shouting 'Asad! Asad!', and when we translated that word to Kehlish, then to English, we got 'Captain', so we assume we've got a living alien captain in the brig."_

"Interesting... How soon can those translators be done? I want to talk to him." Said Whyte.

_"AI's say they can finish the translators in five minutes, time enough to take the 'Asad' and get him to the communications room."_

"See to it that you don't lose him, alien inteligence may prove extremely valuable."

_"Yes sir."_

Whyte sat there, he didn't move from the communications room, and he waited for the entire five minutes. His mind was alight with the possibilities, they'd just gotten a _ranking officer_ as a Prisoner of War, the things he could learn from him were practically limitless, troop movements, attack patterns, strategies, maybe even naval numbers - because Whyte _knew_ this wasn't the entirety of the Turian's naval forces - for the Turians, maybe even the other aliens in the 'Citadel Council'. Maybe he could learn about Turian special forces, about commonly used tactics, maybe he could learn the locations of Turian Operating bases in Turian space - maybe even weaknesses in the system! He might even be able to learn about Turian weapons, their weaknesses and their strengths, maybe ways to get around Turian soldiers' armor, or about weaknesses in Turian military technology.

_"Director, you're getting another call from the USS Storey."_ Said the ship's AI.

"On screen."

A moment passed, before a holographic depiction of an impromptu interrogation room appeared on a video screen in front of Whyte. In the middle of the room, was a teal skinned Turian, whose arms were cuffed, and crossed, he wore what Whyte assumed to be a scowl on his face.

"Captain, can you hear me? Can you understand me?"

* * *

_"Captain, can you hear me? Can you understand me?"_ Said the voice, before a moment later, it was played in Kehlish, which was translated to Talona, the Turian's native language.

"I understand you." Said Captain Jun Salom, as he looked at the image of the human in front of him. The Human was wearing - what Salom assumed to be - Human formal wear, but Salom didn't care, he wouldn't care if the Human was _nude_, he just wanted to ensure the safety of his crew.

_"Captain, I've heard it from your admiral, now I want to hear it from you. Why are your people slaughtering mine? We've done _nothing_ to earn the agression of your people."_ Said the Human.

"I'll be honest with you... _Human_..." Salom was making every effort to be civil, "I do not agree with the invasion with your planet. Ours is the mightiest military in the known Galaxy. You and yours have been tearing through us and ours. The only reason we _are_ being killed is because the idiotic orders of the Admiral."

_"If you do not agree with your leader's decisions, Captain, it is your duty to tell him."_ Said the Human, _"Many societies in Human history were built on that idealogy, government of the people, by the people, for the people."_ He explained, _"Anyone should be able to question their authority figures. If you don't believe in your Admiral's orders, if you believe that they'll get you and your men killed, you should have told him."_

"In my society, Human, orders are absolute. If I'm ordered to do something, I do it. It doesn't matter if I'm ordered to shoot my executive officer, I _do it."_

_"Well, I'm sorry to say, Captain, that your admiral bit off a lot more than he could chew with this decision."_

"What?"

_"A human idiom, never mind." _Said the Human, _"Before we move into... I'll be frank, the interrogation, I'll tell you my name."_ Said the Human, _"My name is Director Jason, Ardellius, Whyte. I am the Director - the leader, in other terms - for the Human Systems Alliance. "_ He explained, _"Now that you know mine, what is your name?" _

"Jun Salom." Said Salom.

_"Well, Captain Salom, I simply ask you, what I asked you when we began: Why are your people slaughtering mine? The Human race has done _nothing_ to earn the wrath of the Turian Hierarchy... So why attack us?"_

"According to the debriefing, it was because you were harboring the Quarians, and breaking Citadel law." Said Salom.

_"You say 'Harboring'... Are the Quarians fugitives?"_

"Several months ago, the Quarians attempted to colonize a dextro-world they'd found while roaming star systems. Problem was, the Hierarchy had already - successfully - petitioned to gain colonization rights. In response, the Quarians bombed the Turian Colonization flotilla and fled the scene. We declared them fugitives and enemies of the Citadel Council, and have been hunting them ever since."

_"That's... Interesting... And what about the violation of the Citadel law?"_

"It is against Citadel Law to experiment with Artificial Intelligences. Simple, Virtual Intelligences are alright, but actual, synthetic life is banned. Ever since the Geth. As well, it is against the law to tamper with Mass Relays. Your species has done both, extensively. We were led to believe you had a small navy, consisting of only a few hundred ships, so the Turian Councilor authorized the invasion of the nearest locatable Human world... Turns out said human world was your homeworld, and you had a fleet of seventeen thousand warships."

_"Our numbers have proven to be a problem, I see."_ Taunted the human, _"However... I find many faults in your argument. Firstly, why in God's name would you invade and assault a species for breaking laws they didn't know existed?"_ Asked the human, _"And secondly... You could have simply _told_ us what the Quarians had done, we could have avoided much blood shed, and the Quarians could have paid reparations for the damages they caused to your fleet..."_

"But?"

_"The most practiced religion on Earth is Christianity. It's history is contained within a book we call 'The Bible'... And one phrase Humanity has defined much of it's history by, goes as such: 'You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'..." _Salom's silence beckoned the Human to continue, _"In other words... What you've done to us, we shall do to you."_

_"DIRECTOR!"_

Aboard _Palaven's Might_, the situation was growing more and more desperate with every moment passed. Admiral Valast - since the death of Admiral Sjorn - was now the commanding officer of the _entirety_ of the Turian armada, and as it stood now, they'd just lost one of their main advantages: Numbers. The Humans stood at fifteen thousand, nine hundred sixty two ships, and those _spirits cursed_ flag ships had just destroyed several dozen more Turian ships, which put their numbers at fifteen thousand, eight hundred seventy two. He'd made some rash decisions, and good Turians were getting slaughtered - on the ground _and_ in the void - as a result. His decision to attack the humans backfired when their nearly twenty thousand ships sprung up and surprised them, his decision to send the Frigate Fleet - which held nearly a hundred thousand good, skilled marines - backfired when the Human ground forces made such retalliations that he honestly wondered if some idiotic Salarian hadn't gone in several hundred years ago and done cross-pollination between Krogans and Asari. It'd explain their ferocity in combat, he got reports that the humans - in Turian Territory - were pulling off maneuvers that the Turians had _never_ seen before; things like playing dead _literally_ en masse, so when Turian patrolls would pass over them, they'd spring up and kill the Turians in a surprise attack. He also got reports that the humans were strapping vehicles - _and themselves! -_ with explosives and dashing head first into Turian squads, with suicide attacks designed to kill as many as possible, inluding the Human. Spirits, he'd even heard that, at one point, Human marines were stuck inside a crumbling spire-building, and instead of lying in there and dying with dignity, a large majority of them _literally_ leapt out of the building and fired at the Turians on the ground, before they themselves died on impact with the ground.

What in the name of the spirits possessed these people to do so many rash things in warfare? They were the Turians' polar opposite, where the Turian armies and marines would march up, proudly, and attack the enemy head on [Going behind enemy lines was reserved _only_ for Turian Special Forces], these Humans did whatever they could to _avoid_ direct contact, they hid in trees, they set up distracting stuffed figures, they played dead in their vehicles, only to pop out and kill as many Turians as they could, and he'd even heard reports of Humans that hid under the corpses of fallen Turians! Who in the _Galaxy_ does that?

"Admiral, targetting solution acquired." Said a gunnery officer, The Admiral had made a decision - a sort of end-all be-all for this battle -, he was to try and find some sort of weak point on the Human flagships, and exploit it. He chose the most opposite, and sent his ship to flank a Flagship and fire at it's engines. Valast sincerely hoped they didn't miss, because not only were the heat sinks on the _Might_ literally a moment away from overheating, but if he missed, the shot would go wide and would slam into the Human planet. Normally, this risk wouldn't even be considered, but these were desperate times, and as such, he needed to consider desperate measures.

"Fire" Ordered Valast, "Then order as many ships as possible to break off and vent their heat sinks, if we lose our firing capability we'll be sitting bilge-snipes."

The ship shuddered a moment later, and an instant after that, the two words Valast had almost prayed he wouldn't hear, were screamed forth from one of the scanners. _"OH NO!"_

* * *

_"DIRECTOR!"_

Jason Whyte immediately cut off the transmission to Earth, "What? What's going on!?"

_"One of the Turian ships, the bigger ones, it just fired!"_

"Who got killed? They take out a Flag ship? Send out recovery teams." Said Whyte, calmly.

_"It wasn't a flagship they hit - they were targetting us, but it doesn't matter, - they missed!"_

A feeling of dread entered Whyte's gut, as he feared - utterly feared - the answer to his next question, "Where is the shot projected to hit?"

Silence, "God damn it, TELL ME! We need to help whoever is about to get slaughtered!" Demanded the Director, though he had many suspicions.

"New York City... New York."

Whyte's heart sank, and the feeling of dread increased twofold. New York was Humanity's crowned jewel, it was the single largest city _ever_ created by Human hands, it was the largest city in Alliance territory. New York City, New York, was Humanity's crowned jewel, it was the _symbol_ for Human development, and it was about to be disintegrated by an alien orbital strike.

"When is it expected to hit?" Asked Whyte, "Can we deflect it? Can we warp it away? Can we intercept it, do _anything_ to stop it!?"

_"It will hit New York in just a few minutes, too much time - even for a random vector - for a Portal to open ahead of it, and for an exit portal to form."_

"So we're losing New York? What's the estimated damage?"

_"Washington DC Class Nuclear Weapon."_

"God help us..." Said Whyte, before he ran his right hand through his hair, "And god held whomever we drop the world's first Planet Shaker on."

_"Sir?"_

"The battle for Eath is going in our favor." Said Whyte, "So _when_ we win, we will retalliate. And to end the swift, brutal retalliation... We're dropping a fucking planet shaker on these bastards." He ranted, "Send out orders, these Turians want a fight, and they're willing to play dirty." He paused, "So we're going to show them what happens when you _piss us off._"

* * *

Sergeant James Burg, of the United States Army Rangers, was sitting in his APC. He and several other Special Forces squads - consisting of other Rangers, some OD3's, and a squad or two of N7's - were on their way to the New York Stock Exchange. Something the Crows had activated was jamming pretty much everything in the area, and the Alliance wanted the Crows _gone_, so Burg, his squad, and the rest of the convoy were hurtling towards the Stock Exchange, to destroy the signall jammer, and call in some Rods from God on key alien positions.

Burg was stricken with sadness, as he looked at the sorry state of his country's - hell, _Humanity's -_ pride and joy, New York City. It's skyline had been irreperably altered within the first four hours of the war, with iconic buildings, like the Chrysler building, having been destroyed by the Crows. The remaining buildings were covered in injuries, be they made by alien bullets, rockets, or bombs, or Human bullets, rockets, or bombs. The streets were covered in disgarded news papers, allied and enemy corpses, and craters from explosions. He'd no idea how much this war would cost the US - or the _world's_ - economy, but he knew that the aftermath of this war, for the Humans and the aliens, wouldn't be pretty.

Burg thought back to his mission, ever since the Crows utterly lost the battle for Times Square - thanks to the convinient arrival of Alliance reinforcements, in the form of the walking tanks, the OD3's, the practical ninjas the N7, and the new-age devil dogs themselves, the Alliance Marines, - they'd tried to take every advantage they could, however Humanity had them beat in nearly every aspect. Humans were adopting more or less Guerilla warfare techniques, where 'standard' warfare wouldn't cut it. The Turians simply didn't seem to be able to cope with the way Humans fought, _every_ time a Human squad would conduct a hit and run, the Turians were caught off guard, every time they'd set up impromptu road-side bombs, the Turians would assume they were under attack, and would bunker down for an hour or so, before they realized it was just a bomb, and there weren't any soldiers near by. The only advantage they had, was that they were able to set up a signal jammer, which promptly fried most everything about Human Communications technology - save for the TITAN Mechs' AI's. Artificial Inteligences had a limited reaction to the signal jammer, any that were off-site and were piloting UAV's were promptly disconnected, and their UAV's crashed, but the ones that were hard-wired into TITAN Mechs and Soldiers' suits, remained active, which meant that the Crows had, effectively, jammed Human Communications and aerial UAV support. However the Crows didn't expect a contingency of Unitet States Army Rangers, US Marines, Alliance Marines, and Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers to be near the scene, and they _certainly_ didn't expect the AI's to be able to locate the jammer the moment it was activated. So bearing all that in mind, they _won't_ expect a massive Human counter attack, consisting of five sentient war-robots (Two Titans, one Scorpion, two Turtles), armored tanks, special forces squads, and a bunch of pissed off Humans.

"Get ready, we're bout to arrive!" Warned Jack Curtis, another Ranger from Burg's squad, from the driver's seat.

"Alright, men. You know our objective, we're taking out a Crow jammer on top of the Stock Exchange! We can expect heavy resistance, however before the UAV's died it was pretty much clear that the Crows are very nearly _removed_ from the area, so if we win this fight, we'll win New York!" Said Burg.

"How in the hell did the Crows _make it_ into the military, if a bunch of Earthlings can kick the living shit out of them?" Asked a Ranger, "I thought the Aliens were always supposed to have the advantage, technology, the smarts, pretty much the _everything_ that out matches Humans..."

"These dumbasses waited too long to invade good ol' planet Earth, that's why." Said another.

"Yep, and now we're going to show 'em how fuckin' stupid they are!"

"Hooah!"

"We're here!"

"The tanks are opening fire, orders, Sarge?"

"Fire at will!" Said Burg.

"Roger sir, firing main gun!"

"Sarge, the TITANs are moving on ahead of us, you should _see_ this!"

"Sync it with my HUD." Said Burg, and a few moments later, the view from his ally's Heads Up Display appeared, and what Burg saw made him laugh, despite himself.

As was the plan, the aliens - immediately upon seeing the towering TITANs, and the horrifiying Scorpions, immediately shifted a majority of their fire onto the mechs, who returned fire in force. It only took a few minutes for the crows to be suppressed by the Scorpions, flushed out by the Titans, and annihilated by the two Turtles that had survived the battle for Times Square. The Scorpions suppressed the Crows with their laser cannons, the Crows couldn't even think to look out of cover when the Scorpion's weapon was pointed at them, but then they were forced to retreat when the Titans appeared and started cutting into them with their turrets, and then the Turtles finished the job by destroying the clusters of Crows as they retreated - in formation, oddly enough - into the Exchange. Almost immediately after the Crows retreated inside, the Turtles picked up the pace, and sprinted inside the Exchange, as the Humans unloaded and left their APC's. Immediately after the Turtles entered the exchange, the loud reports of their Rail Guns going off could be heard, as the Crows shouted commands in their horrid language.

"All squads, FORWARD!" Shouted an N7, before he - and all other Humans present - issued an enourmous, simultaneous war cry, and charged directly into the fray.

When the Humans entered the building, they all did as their respective branches of the military were trained, the N7's cloaked up and used their suppressed weapons to suppress the enemies as they flanked them, the OD3's charged shoulder-first into the nearest Crow, their shotguns barking in approval, the US Marines sought the nearest cover and began using their HUDs' virtual interface and command-recognition to paint and point out targets, and the Rangers kept moving, as much as they could. The Turians tried many times to injure the Turtles, however the Turtles' armor was too thick for their bullets to penetrate, and therefor they simply bounced off and made slight pock-marks. Turian heavy-weapons finally made an appearance as they wised up and began throwing anything explosive at the Turtles, but the Humans would immediately call out the weapons' wielders, and take them out within a few seconds of the explosion.

The battle in the Stock Exchange had completely changed the face of the building, the holographic monitors and the circular desks under them were all in various states of destruction, the floor was littered with discarded cups of coffee, corpses, papers, and broken glass. There was rubble and carpet strewn all over from the bullets and explosions, but the building made no signs of falling.

_"Nerve Bomb out!"_ Shouted a US Marine, as he unclipped his Mk. 2 Nerve Freezing Explosive, or the 'Nerve Bomb', after he threw it into a tight cluster of Crows, the explosive detonated, and instead of killing the Crows, it _literally_ froze their nervous system, to the point where - in humans, at least - they'd be aware of everything, but completely unable to move.

_"Roger that, took 'em out!"_ Shouted an OD3, after he took out the frozen Crows.

"Keep moving!" Shouted Burg, as he leapt over a desk and made a mad dash for the nearest stair well. They needed to get to the roof, which was two stories up, so he and his squad booked it to the nearest emergency stairwell, Burg tackled the door open, much to the surprise of a Crow, who'd been waiting right behind the door, and fumbled for his weapon immediately upon seeing Burg. Burg didn't blame the alien for his sudden fear and confusion, he was built, even for a 'normal' special forces operative. Despite this, Burg didn't stop moving, and careened straight into the alien, and slammed it into the wall.

Acting on instinct, the Crow tried to claw at Burg, but his thick armor covered everything, save for his neck, which suffered a deep gouge thanks to the Crow's talons. In response, Burg slammed his helmeted head into that of the Crow, and the Crow went limp for a half second, which was all the time Sergeant Burg needed to drop him to the floor and put two bullets into his head.

"God damn, Sarge, didn't know your head was that thick, I heard these things' skin was made of metal!" Said Curtis, Burg just laughed and directed the squad up stairs, following the few US and Alliance Marines who'd followed the Rangers' lead.

As the soldiers thundered up the stairs, Burg's radio cackled on and off, he tried fiddling with it, and managed to get a slight signal to breech the jammer, _"ALL... AN FORCES IN THE... K CITY AREA... have launched... NUCLEAR WEAPON... Estimated Time of... Two minutes... Evacuation Order April! Get the... out of there!"_

"Jesus Christ!" Said Burg, freezing the soldiers, "No! Keep going! We need to kill that jammer, the Government's taken the radio silence as the loss of New York! They're about to turn the city into glass if we can't get them to disarm that bomb!"

A sudden, split-second, collective gasp, before the soldiers double-timed it up the stairs. "Door! Raaagh!" Shouted a marine, before he kicked the door open and the soldiers breeched the roof top of the Stock Exchange.

"There's the signal jammer!" Said Burg, pointing at the device the AI's had shown some blurry pictures of, "Todd, can you get a shot!?"

"Negative, sir! Rocket will sail straight over it, I've got to get a straight line of sight!"

"Well move up! Double time! We've less than two minutes before that nuke drops!"

_"CONTACT FRONT!"_

_"LEFT SIDE!"_

_"WE'RE BEING FLANKED!"_

"TODD, DON'T STOP MOVING! GET THAT SHOT, WE'LL COVER YOU!" Shouted Burg, Jason reciprocated the order and sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, his armor sparked with the sight of the alien weapons slamming into it, and Burg _knew_ he saw some blood arc through the air, but Todd didn't stop moving before he could get adequate cover, with a good line of sight of the signal jammer.

"TITANS!" Shouted Burg, "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, WE NEED YOUR HELP ON THE ROOF!" Shouted Burg, as him and the soldiers were pinned down by the mass of enemy soldiers on the roof.

_"I HEAR YOU!" _Shouted the deep, booming voice of a TITAN Mech, before suddenly an enourmous hand appeared over the edge of the building, and a Titan hauled himself over the edge, and onto the roof. It immediately engaged the Turians after getting it's footing, and the Humans were given the breathing room they needed to safely retalliate.

"FIRING!" Shouted Todd, before a rocket soared through the air, and the signal jammer exploded, immediately Burg's radio was flooded with traffic, but Burg ignored it as he switched to emergency channels and tried to get to Alliance Command.

_"Alliance Command! This is Sergeant James Burg, US Army Rangers! New York has **NOT** been lost, I repeat, New York has **NOT **BEEN LOST! DISARM THE NUKE!"_

In response, he heard the _full_ warning, _"All Human forces in the New York City battlezone! The Aliens have launched a Nuclear speed Magnetic Strike against New York City! Estimated Time of Impact: Twenty seconds! Evacuation order April, if you can't evacuate get the fuck down!"_ Said the voice, as Todd heard the deafening whistling noise in the background.

Time seemed to slow down as Todd looked up, and saw the white-hot, flaming, meteorite-looking object as it hurtled to the ground. Burg had only the time to gasp, before the projectile slammed into the ground, and the entire Earth seemed to shake, as the shockwave shot forth and the cloud slowly formed. Burg had only the time to blink before the shockwave hit the Stock Exchange, and sent him flying off the building. Burg had no time to think, before he slammed into the building opposite the Exchange, and was impaled on a pipe, that was jutting out from the wall.

* * *

"Oh my god, would you look at that!" Said a news anchor, after the camera feed from Times Square went silent, it switched to a rapidly fleeing helicopter, and the Helicopter showed an enourmous mushroom cloud, and an immensely powerful shockwave, that was gaining on the helicopter.

_"Guys, I don't know what's happening here!"_ Shouted the reporter, her voice was hysterical, as she knew her doom was fast at hand, _"But someone - either alien or Human - has just detonated a Nuclear Device in New York! We're - - AAAUGH!"_ She screamed, when the helicopter was slammed into by the shockwave, and it careened nose first into the ground.

"It..." The News Anchors - who were normally so calm, and collected on-air, - were visibly shaken, their voices quivered and their hands shook, "It seems that someone has... Dropped a Nuclear Weapon on _New York_!" She said, a tear fell down her cheek, "Our hearts go out to the people whom are injured by this heinous act... We can only hope that there are survivors..."

* * *

_"Charlotte! The ground is shaking, I can't tell what is going on!"_ Shouted a reporter, as he and his camera shook violently, in tandem with the shakes of the Earth, _"The fighting here has seemed to simply halt, because of whatever is going on! I'm getting reports that someone dropped a Nuclear Weapon somewhere nearby, but I stress to our viewers that that report is unconfirmed!"_

* * *

"You can see it! Off in the distance! A mushroom cloud! A mushroom cloud over New York City!" Shouted someone, "Geophrey are you _getting this?!"_

_"Holy shit, man, I'm getting this!"_ Shouted the camera's operator, as he tried to counter the violently shaking Earth, but failed as he stumbled around a lot.

"Look! Look look look! Down there!" Shouted the man to the camera's left, the camera's operator spun to where tha man was pointing, and saw a veritable legion of helicopters in the air, and ambulances on the ground, hurtling towards ground zero.

"Why the hell did they nuke New York!?" Demanded someone off screen, "I got off the phone from my brother, in the refugee center, he told me they were _winning_!"

* * *

Alliance Director Jason Whyte was openly, albeit silently, sobbing, as he watched the satelite-images of the mushroom cloud form over New York. He was furious, despite his outward, somber appearance. He _knew_, that for every Human that had died in that strike, he'd ordered a hundred Turians dead.

_"Director... We're being hailed."_

"Is it the Storey, again?" Asked Whyte, as he wiped the tears from his face, he couldn't help but wondered how many had died in that attack.

_"No it's... The Turians."_

Whyte's face froze, and his voice hardened, "On screen."

* * *

Turian Admiral Tor Valast was frantic, now _he himself_ had broken Citadel law! He had no idea how he could talk his way out of this, but his fist order of business would be to desperately try to negotiate with the Human, Director Jason Whyte, he called himself, _convince_ the Human that it wasn't an intentional act of malice, that it was a mistake.

_"What do you want?"_ Asked the Human, after he appeared on Valast's screen, his voice dripped with fury.

"Director Jason Whyte you _must_ know that it wasn't us who did that!"

_"We__ wouldn't_ dare_ launch nuclear-speed weapons at your planets, even before this attack, we hadn't planned on it. Kinetic strikes... Maybe... But not nuclear-speed Magnetic Accelerator strikes, you monster."_ Said the Human.

"Director Jason Whyte - "

_"Stop."_ Said the Human, he froze Valast in his tracks, _"You've kicked the hornet's nest, admiral. That city _alone_ is capable of holding sixteen million people, ever since the city expanded, it's census has said an average ten million people live in it every year. We have confirmed reports that we only evacuated a good four million people, before all communications air ways were taken up with military matters... That means... In addition to your own... You've killed over six million of our people, in one move."_ Valast knew the Human was angry, that was evident in it's voice, _"We haven't used Nuclear weapons in centuries... We've **never** used planet-shaking weapons in warfare... But with this move, I will guarantee you the Human Systems Alliance will make your home world **BURN,** in nuclear fire!"_ Declared the Human, _"You've unleashed a force you cannot possibly defeat! You've killed so many people in the last two minutes alone, that every human in Alliance territory will cry for Turian blood... I can guarantee you_ _this..."_ He paused,_ "The Quarians called you the_ sole_ Military Superpower in the Galaxy... When we're done with you... That will no longer be the case."_

_"Sir, we've located their ship."_

_"Good day, Admiral Valast. May your gods have mercy upon your soul, and may the souls of the millions you've killed, and the billions you've just sentenced to death all forgive you, because those that survive this war... Will not."_ And with that, the communication ended, and the scanners and communicators started screaming, as they tried to get _Palaven's Might_ out of the way of the Human projectile, but try as they might, they could not move fast enough away, and the projectile slammed into the Dreadnought's engines, the ship exploded in a white-hot fiery explosion, a moment later.

* * *

_"Director... SIGMA Forces are arriving, they're all reporting combat readiness."_

"Half of _ALL!_ of the SIGMA's are to go to Tokyo... They went silent hours ago, so we'll let Humanity's fiercest show the Turians what happens when you've pissed us off. The rest of the Super Soldiers are to divert to other warzones... I want a gauranteed twenty five hundred in each of the following captials: Moscow, Washington DC, Vancouver, Berlin, and London." Said Whyte, as he watched the Turian ship explode.

_"Understood sir. Anything else?"_

"I don't care if the Turians try to flee... We are to show no quarter, there will be _no_ Turian ships that survive this engagement."

_"Yes sir."_

* * *

"I haven't seen Earth in _years_!" Said one soldier, a slight amount of awe in his voice, as he remembered his home.

"I haven't been there since I got augged…" Said another.

"I'll be **_damned_** if I let some alien bastard take _my_ home from me!" Said a third.

"Hell yeah!" Said the first.

_"Alright, listen up ladies!"_ Shouted a deep voice, being broadcasted throughout the twenty ships, that were all hurtling through the blank grey void that was warp-space, _"Earth is under attack! In the last fourteen hours, we've sustained immense losses, nearly _three thousand_ Alliance warships have been confirmed destroyed, with more still being inoperable." _Said the voice, it only takes an instant for the tens of thousands of SIGMA Operatives to recognize the voice of one of the men that had trained them in the most brutal ways imaginable, for more than seven years of their lives. _"Those alien bastards have gone to ground, and have already started bombing our cities, slaughtering our people, and burning our home! Guess what? Play time is over for those fuckers, I just got a report they struck New York City with a Nuclear Weapon!"_ Shouts of defiance meet this statement, _"That's right! We're going to hit 'em twice as hard! And that's why Earth needs YOU!"_

_"You're being called in to do what we do best: What average humans can't! You're being called in because, as per the reason you were all created, mankind needs a new breed of soldier to defend him in his hour of need. SIGMAs, YOU are that breed of soldier! You were all chosen for your dedication to your species, your crystal-clear military records, and your will to do whatever it takes to defend your race. As the Alliance's first and only Super-soldier corps, you are who we call upon when we want the job DONE!"_ Shouted the voice, in his drill-instructor tone, _"Failure is not in your vocabulary! Defeat is never an option for you! And may whatever god those aliens worship, have **mercy** on them, because you won't!"_

This was met with the loud cheers of the _everyone_ in the miniature fleet, as it edged closer and closer to the end of it's journey.

_"With your augmentations, equipment, and training, you should be able to walk all over ET and send him phoning home with a god damn broken arm! Now report to your shuttles and drop pods! WE'RE HERE!"_ And with that, all of the ships flew out of warp-space. The ships not carrying any SIGMA Soldiers immediately broke off to destroy the Turian armada, the space-craft carriers deployed _all_ of their fighters, and the frigates and destroyers immediately engaged the ships closest to them.

_"Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta squads! You're reporting to Tokyo, the heart of the Alien attack!"_ Shouted the voice, as thousands upon thousands of seven and a half foot tall soldiers thundered through the ship and into their shuttles and drop pods.

_"Echo, Foxtrot, Golf Squads, get your cameras, you're heading to Earth's nations' capitals! Everyone else, you're the lucky ones, you get to CHOOSE where your ocean of blood gets formed!" _As soon as the man finished speaking, tens of thousands of shuttles, Drop Pods and one-manned fighters all launched themselves from the ships, moving directly for their goals.

_"God speed, gentlemen!"_

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

_Human Nuclear Armaments_

_The idea to 're'-stock Nuclear Weapons ['Re' meaning that the Humans still had Nukes in service, but didn't use them.] came about after the colonization of Eden. When the idea was put forth that now the Human race had _other_ planets to test their weapons, it was designated that a 'Dead' planet would be used solely for the purpose of Nuclear Weapons testing. Alliance scientists spent years making higher-yield Nuclear Weapons than the ones in the service of the United Nations. _

_'City Breaker' Nukes are of the yield that was last seen back in the days of World War 3, and hold 1.5 times the power of the infamous 'DC Nuke', and thrice the power of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nukes._

_'Continent Cracker' Nukes are nuclear weapons that are of the like _never_ seen on Earth, they are more powerful than the DC Nuke by several factors of ten, and are projected to have enough explosive yield to wipe out a continent the size of Asia with a single drop._

_'Planet Shaker' Nukes are among the most deadly, most explosive, and most recent aditions to the Human Nuclear Arsenal. More than fifteen times powerful than a Continent Cracker, Planet Shakers are said to have enough raw destructive power to effectively wipe out the entire Eurasian landmass. [It was after the succesful detonation of the first Planet Shaker, that planet 'Rad' had to be retired, due to it's near-destroyed state; 'Rad' was replaced by planet 'Oppenheimer', a planet several times the size of Earth, with no life-holding capabilities.] It is said that it would only take five planet shakers to destroy an earth-sized planet._

_The Human Systems Alliance is the only organization allowed to have nuclear weapons above City Breaker class, and any Earth - or non-Earth - nations found to be attempting to make a Continent Cracker, or Planet Shaker, is to - according to protocol - be attacked with the full force of the Alliance Military._

_To date, not a single Alliance Nuclear Weapon has been used in it's history. [Nuclear weapons have been used on the Earth since WWIII, however ever since the perfection of small-scale terraforming technology, their damage has been limited to only raw explosive power; to date, no nuclear-radiation exists on Earth {Thanks to the Terraforming Disks}, aside from that found in Nuclear Power Plants.]_

_SIGMA Special Forces: _

_- Attempting to access information - _

_- Access Denied: __Information Redacted Under Alliance Inteligence Order: 13612998 -_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8:

November 4th, 2201

* * *

The ground was trembling, the air tasted of dust, and the sky was blotted out by the dust and debris. Sergeant Mal Staltone of the Turian First Strike Ground Troopers felt a great weight lifted off his chest-plate, and above him was his squad mate, and friend, Corporal Tila Sorlan, one of the few female Turians he'd seen go for a career military job in the FSGT's.

"Sergeant, thank the spirits you are alive..." Said Tila, as she extended her hand, Mal accepted it and hauled himself to his feet. Both his and Til's armor were severely damaged, a large portion of Mal's chest-plate was simply missing, and Sil's arm-armor and her helmet were both irreparably damaged.

"What _was_ that, Corporal?" Asked Mal, as he retrieved his side-arm.

"I've no idea, Sergeant, the others believe the Humans deployed a nuclear weapon, but Toran did a radiation check, it's lower than what we have on Palaven, so it wasn't a nuclear weapon that hit us..." Said Tila, Mal could tell there was something she was hiding.

"There is something else." Said Mal, as he limped down the hill of rubble, assisted slightly by Tila.

"One of the tech-sergeants got a transmission from the Human radios, after the jammer went down... He converted it to Kehlish, and then to Palsdan, and... It was _us_... Mal." Said Tila.

Mal looked to the biotic with confusion, "What do you mean, _us_, Corporal?"

"The _Might, Palaven's Might_ launched a Mass Accelerator round at the planet... The Humans tried to warn... Everyone to flee, but..." She looked outwards, to the devastated wasteland that had been an enormous, capital-class city. Mal remembered when he'd seen it first, less than a solar day ago, he thought it was magnificent, spire buildings littered the ground, and humans and mechs of all shapes and sizes littered it's surface. He _knew_ the humans had to have some sort of pride behind this city, as _no one_ would put so much time and effort into building such a large city, without feeling some sort of pride. Now it was a shadow of it's former self, less than half of the buildings that stood tall when they'd invaded were standing now, and in the distance he could see more still falling in upon themselves. He could hear something, in the distance, but couldn't quite tell what. "The warnings didn't do anything..."

"Sergeant! You are alive!" Shouted a Turian, as Mal and Tila descended the rubble, Mal saw that at least four other Turians were alive and moving, but could see a few corpses as well.

"Jusef died, Sergeant, you're our commanding officer." Reported another, with a quick salute, "What are your orders?"

"We're staying together." Said Mal, "And finding _anything_ space-worthy, I've lost faith in this war and I will not allow my comrades and allies to continue to die in order to fight it."

"Understood, sir." Said the Turian, after another salute, before he turned around and barked the orders to the others, who all got to their feet, slowly and stiffly. It was obvious that everyone had some sort of degree of injury, but they all still got up and moved when ordered, and that alone put a small level of pride in Mal.

The Turian FSGT's descended the rubble to ground-level, and started to move away from ground-zero. A very thick level of dust and smoke hung in the air, blotting out the sky. The Turians could hear fires and explosions in the distance, and after a few moments, Mal himself heard something else. It seemed, off, not synthetic like the sirens in the distance, or organic - in a sense - like the fires or the crumbling buildings, rather it seemed, somber, and musical.

_"Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top..."_ Said the voice, it's tones carried throughout the suddenly silent landscape, _"When the wind blows, the cradle will rock..."_ The voice shook as it spoke in it's musical tone, the rapid sobs and shakes reminded Mal of the sounds his bond-mate would make when she cried, back on Palaven, _"When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall..."_

"Contact front!" Declared a Marine, as he raised his rifle, the others did so too, Mal lifted his pistol and Tila the same, as they both relied upon the other to move, and therefor couldn't rely upon a rifle. As they slowly inched forward, Mal could make out the sounds of sobbing, not _anything_ unlike his bond-mate's cries of sorrow, if anything, now that he thought about it, the two sounds were one in the same.

_"And down will come baby... Cradle and... All..."_ Said the human, before it broke down into long, rasping sobs.

Mal could see a very small group of humans, two in all, sitting on the rubble of a building. One human was very small, it looked not unlike an Asari child, and the taller of the humans was cradling something in it's arms, sobbing it's eyes out.

_"Hi!"_ Said the smaller Human, it waved it's small, grubby hand at the First Strike Ground Troopers, it strolled up to them. The larger Human was still sobbing, but that stopped when it's head snapped up and it saw the Marines.

_"Oh please god, no!"_ It sobbed, as it grabbed the smaller Human's hand and dragged it behind her, the small clump the larger Human had been holding fell to the ground, and it rolled over to the Marines in it's bundle, as the larger Human tried to shield the child with her body, _"Please, haven't you done enough!?"_ She shouted, in her native tongue, _"Look at what you've done! You've killed everything! You killed my baby, you killed my husband! Please, just don't kill me daughter, kill me but not her!"_

_"Mommy? What are you talking about? Are those aliens?"_ Asked the Human child, but Mal wasn't paying attention, his horrified gaze was locked on the small bundle that stopped a few feet from his feet. He got down to his knees and removed some of the cloth-like substance, and saw a horrifying sight. It was some sort of infant, not unlike an Asari newborn, but it was missing an arm [The cloth near it's arm was dripping with some sort of red liquid substance] and it's skull was caved in, with blood leaking out of a few deep gashes on it's head and a small pool of blood in one of it's eye sockets. It was very obviously dead, and the larger of the Humans more than likely knew this when she rashly dropped it. Mal noted that her gaze lingered on the corpse for several moments, a look of intense sorrow in her eyes, as if she knew her actions were rash, and truly regretted dropping the corpse.

"Orders, sir?" Asked a Marine.

Mal looked from the infant's corpse, to the duo of Humans. The larger one had several obvious injuries on her person, and her leg was bent in a way that didn't look natural to her species. She was desperately trying to shield the smaller of the Humans, whose child-like curiosity bade it to resist it's parent's attempts. An immense, horrified feeling of dread filled Mal as he realized that the infant was that Human's child, and the smaller Human was as well. His_ people_ had very specific rules against firing on alien civilians and his _government_ had immensely strict rules against using Mass Accelerator rounds on planets. Both of those rules - and countless others - had been broken by this stunt, and the horrified Turian Sergeant could only stare as his species' actions dawned on him.

"Sir?"

_These people... They were not the savages Admiral Valast told us they were... They've broken Citadel laws, but they knew not what laws they were, and didn't know they existed._ He thought, _From that other planet, we learned that they were making every attempt - despite immense societal differences - to coexist with the Quarians... They did nothing to initiate hostilities with them, or with us, despite what we were told as we came to land... Despite what we were told when the call came in to Palaven Command..._ Thought Mal, _Despite this, we attacked, we bombed, and we killed, everything in sight... _He paused to stand up, _These people are not the savages, on the level of Krogan, we were told they were... These people are not a threat on the level of Rachni, that we were convinced they'd become if left unchecked... These people, are just living, breathing beings, fighting for their home... They feel, they think, they love, and yes, they fight... But they've yet to show any true hostilities, aside from firing back... So... Who are the __**real**__ monsters?_ He wondered.

Mal looked again at the Humans, the larger one was still shouting something in their strange language. Mal found himself captured by the subtle beauty of their language. It was gutteral, like the Salarian's, but also slightly musical, like the Asari. The Human in front of him was more than likely asking the FSGT's to be merciful, as it desperately tried to shield it's child's body.

"Sir? Orders?"

"Ignore them. They are unarmed." Said Mal, as he got to his feet.

"But... Our orders when landing, were... -"

"If you want to follow the Admiral's orders, make sure you look at _this -"_ He indicated the corpse at his feet - "First. Now come, we leave." He said.

* * *

"Tevos… Eistan, to what end did you call an emergency meeting of the Council?" Asked Turian Councilor Sparatus, as he enters the small, secure room that held only a triangular table, three chairs, and two other councilors.

"Councilor Sparatus do the words 'Mankind' -" Councilor Eistan made sure to say the words in question in the alien language "- Mean anything to you?"

"No, nothing." Said the Turian councilor as he sat down in his chair, "Why? Have we found a new race?"

"We?" Eistan pointed to himself and Tevos, "No. Not since the Krogan. You?" He pointed to Sparatus, "Have, and you proceeded to send a majority of Turian Naval Forces to attack them. If subtlety was your goal Councilor, you failed miserably."

"I'm outraged! With what proof do you make these claims!?" Demanded Sparatus.

"Special Tasks Group intelligence…" Stated the Asari councilor, calmly, "States that you personally ignored the First Contact protocols and ordered the attack on the Human Race."

"I… They were harboring enemies of the Citadel! They were breaking Council **law**!" Roared Sparatus, his double-flanged voice made his rage all the more apparent.

"Oh? You mean, the enemies they knew nothing of? And took pity on because they were dying?" Asked Tevos, "And the laws they do not know they are breaking, because they _do not know they exist?"_ She pressed, "Councilor your actions are treading the line between sensible and criminal. The _only_ way you can make this up is if you recall **_all_** Turian forces from 'Earth', and pray to your spirits that Humanity does not wish for vengeance."

The sound of an omni-tool going off interrupted them, and when Eistan read his newest message, his eyes went their widest. "Those prayers... Will be unneeded." He said, his normally calm tone showing an immense amount of horror and fear.

"Why? What has happened?" Asked Tevos.

Eistan looked to Sparatus, "Councilor. Explain yourself. _**Now."** _He said, as he opened an image of an enormous, smoking crater on a blue and green garden-world, "That scar is consistent with Mass Accelerator rounds. You need only look at the scars on Tuchanka for comparison..." And with that, he pulled images of the Krogan Rebellion's Mass Accelerator scars on the Krogan home world. "_You_ ordered the attack on the Human homeworld, and your lies before now will discredit anything you say, against you ordering a Mass Strike against the same planet. If you remember, Sparatus -" Everyone in the room noticed Eistan didn't say 'Councilor', "- It was, in fact, your species who instigated the law against using Mass Accelerator rounds against Garden Worlds, as you and the Krogans were responsible for the veritable 'Death' of ten planets during the rebellions." Said Eistan, "You attacked the Humans because they broke Citadel law and harbored the Quarians. They didn't know of this law, and the Quarians more than likely lied to them. Now, you have broken Citadel law, and you _knew_ of it's existence." He said, "I give you one chance. Call to your armies, force them to leave the battle, surrender if you must, but this war _will not continue_, lest the Citadel feels it's effects."

"How in the name of the Spirits are you receiving live updates from _my_ fleet?" Deflected Sparatus.

"I would expect by now that you would know that the STG can find ways of learning whatever they need, and broadcasting this knowledge whenever they need to. They beamed a message through the relay network, which hit the comm-buoys and sent the reports to me." Said Eistan, "Now stop deflecting."

_"_But... But..._ We're winning!"_ Declared the Turian councilor, "Give us a day, _two_ at most! We can destroy the human navy and break their will! Think of the opportunities another client race can bring!"

"You know as well as we do, you are _not_ winning." Said Tevos, "Spectres have retrieved your war reports. Your First and Second fleets are rapidly being destroyed, nothing but your patrol and your third fleets remain. Continuing this war will destroy your armed forces, and leave the _entirety_ of the Citadel Council, perhaps even the _Galaxy_, open for attack."

"But...-"

"Councilor, order your fleets to retreat immediately, or risk losing your spot on this council, and having the Turian's status as Council Member _questioned._" Stated Eistan.

_"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"_ Shouted Sparatus.

"Oh, quite the contrary," Began Eistan, "Council mandate 33487 specifically states that if any member of the council acts in a way that dishonors the other members, or the council itself, he or she _can_ be removed from the council, and the remaining members can either decide to make a _majority_ vote, consisting of all Council and Citadel races, as to whether or not the removed race should continue serving the Council."

"You -"

_"We_ did not want a war with a race that _did not know better_!" Tevos declared, "You _must_ be aware that - as with **all** first contact scenarios - _this_ species may have more secrets than a Quarian's suit has pockets!"

"But I _told_ you, we are winning! We've landed troops on their planet, we're obliterating their navy! Admiral Valast _assured_ me of this!" Said Sparatus.

"Then you have been misinformed." Said Eistan, "Firstly, your ground troops' invasion has been stopped dead in it's tracks. Secondly, your naval forces are being incinerated as we speak. The Human's weapons fire at a speed at which your shields simply _don't_ recognize them, and allow them to pass straight through unhindered. You've lost more than you could ever gain with this war, and if you continue you _will_ be obliterated!"

"It is impossible..." Said Sparatus, shaking his head.

"It is not. You of all people know that any military power can be decimated by another. Do us all a service, Sparatus... Recall your fleets!" Said Eistan, "Before it is too late."

* * *

"All fleets, push forward, and retaliate. I don't want a **_single, god damn_** Turian ship within sight of Earth, I want them all pushed back to Mars! And when we're through there better not be a single alien ship in Alliance space!" Ordered Jason Whyte, as _The Piked Shield_, the few dozen Flag Ships, and the several thousand remaining Alliance ships soared across the void, closing the gap between the dwindling Turian Armada with every passing moment. Whyte's plan was, to put it simply, use the Alliance's superior weapons and armor to push the Turians back to wherever it was they came from. They'd enter the legendary 'knife fight' ranges with the Turian ships, and would - if at all possible - push them away from earth before they destroyed them utterly and won the first stage of the first war Humans had _ever_ had with an alien race.

As the eleven thousand plus Turian ships realized what was happening, a scanner informed Whyte that all of the Turian ships were firing, but it seemed that - ever since the destruction of the ship that had shot Earth - many of them had lost the will to fight, and a vast majority were retreating, in formations and groups of fifty. Whyte immediately ordered a large flotilla of Human ships to warp behind the Turian armada and set up a cross fire, and to push the Turian ships together, so every shot fired by a Human would slam into a Turian ship, and hopefully, most shots fired by a Turian ship would slam into one of their own.

"Sir, the ODP's have finished reloading and gathering energy!"

"Make sure they pick their targets carefully, the Turians are lining up with the Martian colonies."

"Yes sir!"

And with that, every Orbital Defense Platform above Earth roared in their silent fury, as hundreds of magnetically accelerated slugs soared through the vacuum and slammed into the Turian ships. Most ships that were hit by these slugs were obliterated, and sometimes the slugs carried enough speed to soar through the ships and slam into another, though not all ships were close enough to actually be hit by one of these slugs.

* * *

_"Left side! Left side!"_ Screamed a soldier, before he had to dive behind a fallen stone slab before dozens of sand-sized bullets slammed into that which he used as cover.

United States Sea Air and Land teams were fighting alongside Human Systems Alliance Special Forces teams, consisting of the elite N7, and the [self described] insane Orbital Dropping Death Dealers. They had only a single goal: Protect the civilians.

They were fighting in Washington DC, the Department of Justice, contained within were at least seventy nine human civilians, and the bird-men were desperately trying to slaughter the soldiers to get to those civilians. But what the bird-men [Colloquially referred to as 'Crows', by many American forces] didn't expect were the best of the best of what each nation had to offer, protecting these civilians. Fifty total humans were firing at the Crows, and the crows, in response, were trying to use mob-tactics and their superior numbers to destroy the humans. But to the Humans' advantage, they knew the lay of the land, and were fighting with strategies the Crows couldn't adapt to, many a time a gunship would fly over and use hit and run tactics to thin out the Crow soldiers.

The sky around them had turned red, due to the battle raging in the state, in the _country_. In the air, dozens upon dozens of human jets and alien fighters engaged each other in epic aerial battles, on the ground, thousands of soldiers, marines and other infantry, in tandem with ground-based war vehicles, all engaged each other, fighting tooth and nail for every inch of land they could take. Buildings had been blown apart, the ground torn up and marked with dozens of smoking craters, and was littered with the bodies of Human and Crow soldiers alike, though humans were making every attempt to save their dead, while the Crows would abandon the dying the second they realized they couldn't be helped.

The Crows had a slight advantage in numbers - currently though, reservists and reinforcements from the mid-west and mid-east US had yet to arrive to assist the East Coast war zone - and an advantage in weapons technology, they never ran out of ammunition, however more often than not, any human that could fire more bullets downrange than the Crows, would win the battle. However the humans had an unexpected advantage in lesser advanced tech and weapons, had much more training and had the advantage of disparity. The humans were fighting for their _home_, among other things, so they used everything they could. Civilians were quickly realizing that this was a global war, and they were facing extinction as a species, and as such, the men were stealing the dead Crows' weapons, and taking up arms with the US Armed Forces, and the Alliance Military. The women - at the _urging_ of the men - were protecting the children and the elderly - but the elderly [Citing that 'We're old! We've nothing to lose!'] would also take up arms, but were more used for suppressive tactics. So while the SEALs, N7, and OD3's had help, and it _did_ help, it wasn't too terribly useful.

_"Overlord! This is Runner 2-3, the civilians need evac immediately!"_ Shouted Sergeant James Ryan, before he leaned out of cover and fired at the first Crow he saw, the bullets left his M19 Assault rifle and soared straight into the alien's head, _"We're getting over run!"_

_"Runner 2-3 we read you, and we'll see what we can do, but **all** air assets are currently tied down at the White House counter-offensive, Overlord Out."_

"Ramirez is hit! He's not moving!" Shouted another SEAL.

"Right side, right side! They're breaking through!" Screamed an N7, as his shields flared a brilliant golden-orange when the Crow's bullets hit them.

Sergeant Ryan had quickly noticed that, while the Crows were simply trying to _hit_ his allies, through the last day he'd noticed more holes in throats than he'd seen the previous, this meant that the Crows had learned - rather quickly - that the Human armor was a slight bit too thick for their weapons, and they had to specifically aim for the unarmored portions, and the biggest target was the human throat.

"Fireman, take your friends and suppress the right flank!" Ordered the sergeant, of the small brigade of firemen and police officers he'd taken to referring to as 'Fireman'.

The man he'd spoken to wore a big, thick fireman's outfit, he nodded, adjusted his helmet, and moved back inside the building to relay the orders.

_"They're moving on all sides!"_ Reports the sniper team from the top floor, _"Get inside the building!"_

"We **can't!"** Responds Ryan, "If we move in the building the Crows can move in and pin us down! My five -" Someone screams a death cry, Ryan sees a body flump down to the ground several meters to his right "- Four guys are our best bet at making it 'till the air-cav arrives!"

_"Runner 2-3, Overlord, I just tried calling mechs, you've got Dogs moving for you as fast as they can but the ETA is five minutes, recommend you do what_ever_ you can to prolong your battle! I can see a mass of enemy foot-mobiles heading your way!"_

_"Sergeant, you **need** to get back in here or you'll be over run! We **aren't getting -"**_ The man paused, the radio went silent, the three seconds that passed before he spoke again seemed to take an eternity, _"OD3 Support coming in! Uploading LZ to your HUDs!"_

A moment later, Sergeant Ryan's Heads Up Display lit up with a bright silver circle that extended outwards about fifty meters, right in the heart of the Crow's forces.

"Suppressing fire! Take down the Crows or the OD3's will get torn apart the second they land!" Shouted Ryan, as he blindly fired over his marble-white, scorched stone slab of cover, he used his motion tracker and the call-outs of his men to judge the location of the Crows.

"Wait a second, the Summer fleet already deployed all it's OD3's! The only ones left are the guys on Eden!" Said an OD3.

"Must be marines using drop pods then! Suppress them!" Ordered Ryan.

_"ETA 3... 2... 1... Impact!"_ And with that, the ground shook as the Orbital Dropping Death Dealers' drop pods slammed into it.

Sergeant Ryan leaned out of cover and fired towards the Crows, he saw twelve drop pods begin the opening sequences. A moment later, the doors on the pods flew open and _massive_, seven and a half foot tall men in thick armor and gas-mask helmets sprinted out. They all were equipped with M19 assault rifles on their backs, and HSLR 72 Shotguns in their arms. Immediately after they landed, they sprinted outwards, but not towards the human forces at the Department of Justice, but rather, towards the other Crows. Their shotguns thundered and boomed with each pull of the trigger, and the slugs contained within shredded the heads of the Crows. It only took a few moments for the Crows to shout something in their alien language, and to shift the majority of their fire towards the giant humans. Sergeant Ryan assumed that they were some sort of special forces, because they had shields that flared a brilliant gold when they were hit with the Crows' weapons.

"We've been given a major opportunity here, people! Suppressive fire, prioritize the Crows that _aren't_ being torn apart the seven foot tall machines!" The sergeant ordered, as he slammed a new magazine into his rifle, and began firing at the aliens.

* * *

"We've got sniper fire, they're in the clock tower!" Screamed Private Theodore Walsh, as he brought his head down before the alien's sniper-fire slammed into the area he'd just been.

"Call in air support, get a gun-run on the tower!" Ordered Corporal Thomas Wayde, the acting-commander of the British SAS Task-Force he'd been a part of. Their old commander had been shot in the throat and killed not a few hours ago.

"Roger that -" Theodore paused, _"This is SAS Squad Sierra-Bravo Six, we need a gun run on the Westminster Tower, Big Ben, Alien forces have snipers set up in it's remains, and they're pinning us down so their ground forces can move in! Any air assets, please respond!"_

"Left side!"

"Right side!"

"Tossing a grenade!"

It was moving into night at London, England, and the fierce battles being waged showed no sign of letting up. The sky had become an ugly mixture of red and blue, with a line of green where the two colors met up, the air was filled with dust, due to several skyscrapers having been shot down by the massive alien ship floating in mid-air. Corporal Wayde was with his squad stuck in an apartment building a mile or two away from the shattered husk that had been Big Ben, they'd finished their primary objective hours ago and had been waiting on reinforcements or an evacuation ever since, but then the alien forces somehow found their location and were arriving en-masse to try and snuff out the British special forces soldiers. Though the aliens had a slight advantage in technology and numbers, the SAS Operatives were fighting for their home, and were doing _everything_ they knew how to defend it.

_"Sierra-Bravo Six, this is SIGMA Squad, Delta 1-1 Actual, prepare for immediate assistance."_

"Something's moving for the tower!"

Wayde got a moment to see several flaming objects descend from the clouds and slam into the remains Big Ben, they soared straight through and heading for the ground a few meters from their position. Almost immediately after they slammed into the ground, the tower simply gave up, and fell to the ground. Immediately following the drop pods were dozens and dozens of other fiery objects, and hundreds of shuttles carrying reinforcements.

The second the five drop-pods slammed into the ground a few streets away from the apartment, five seven-foot-tall men and women rushed outwards, their rifles raised and sending wave upon wave of suppressive fire to the aliens that were giving Sierra-Bravo Six a bad time.

"We've got reinforcements! Alliance OD3's!" Shouted a sniper, from his perch in the attic.

"Those guys don't _look_ like suicide leapers!" Declared another man.

"Doesn't matter, they're shooting at the bad guys, that makes them allies, reload and keep up the pressure!" Ordered Wayde, before he shoved shotgun shells into his weapon and fired at the rapidly retreating aliens.

* * *

The advantage the Turian forces had in major cities all over the world quickly shifted as the SIGMA Operatives landed in key points worldwide. Cities currently being fought for, such as Moscow, London, Washington DC and Tokyo are all sending reports that they have turned the tide and are beginning counter attacks. The super-soldier assistance coupled with the increase in numbers and raw firing power provided by their twenty-ship flotilla prove to be an excellent morale booster for the men and women in those areas.

However, the SIGMA forces are a finite pool of soldiers, and only the areas they arrive in show the bright reports. Countries such as India, North and South Korea, and Germany all were showing helpless reports, due to the lack of Alliance assistance, and the aerial advantage the soldiers' delivery ships were giving. Despite that, upon the SIGMA Operatives arrival, the battle for Earth went in the Humans' favor.

When Christopher McGraw awoke and learned of the more unfortunate areas of Earth, his reaction was, to say the very least, angry. He was angry that he'd slept through several hours of - most likely - the most intense battles on Earth, and had no work to show for the deaths that had happened. What surprised everyone - including the Quarian Admiral who'd been working on the device during his absence - was that he directed that anger towards his work, and somehow, he was working twice as fast as he had been. Within six hours of waking up, he'd constructed two more prototypes, before testing them and destroying them for the 'perfect parts'.

When asked by a scientist when he thought the weapon would be ready, Chris responded by saying it'd be ready the second he can waltz outside and successfully test it on a Turian ship, and when he can put a ship-grade energy shield on the flagship being forged with Tuning Metals.

While he'd been sleeping, Talo'Zorn had the opportunity to study the blueprints Chris had made, and the notes he'd taken from the war. From what she understood, this device was meant to replace _everything_ humanity had ever made to 'go boom', in his words. The weapon was designed to make a three inch wide, two kilometer long beam, made purely of anti-particles. In theory [And in the practices in the lab] focused anti-matter particles would only damage [Or, in his words, delete] the particles they come into contact with, and that the limited range could be completely removed if burst-fired, instead of sustained-beam fired. This worked via creating a charged blast of anti-matter, and instead of shooting it in a single condensed beam, it would be collected into an orb, before launched out at rail-gun speeds.

According to Chris, the uses of anti-matter could go everywhere from common commercial to military use, and with Element Zero, it could be perfectly safe, as the Eezo could hold it in suspended animation until it would be needed for fuel or for weapons purposes. The 'anti-matter particle beam' was merely the 'tip of the iceberg', as the humans said. Talo read that Chris honestly believed that, given enough time and resources, he could evolve the particle beam to an 'Anti-matter Domed Energy Creator'. In theory, _this_ weapon would literally create a dome of anti-matter particles, that technically should destroy everything they touch, but with the addition of a 'discriminatory DNA scanner', the weapon could be made discriminatory in what it destroys. His analogy was that if you put a specific species of K9's DNA into the scanner, then told the machine to encompass the entire galaxy [Though the energy required to do so would be _much_ more than was possible to create with modern technology], every member of that K9 species would be killed in a painless way, and everything else [Humans, Quarians, other dogs, cats, fish, etc] would be spared. In these notes, Chris had even provided rough schematics of the device, and he referred to it as 'The Crucible', as the 'Anti-matter Domed Energy Creator' was too long.

_"Talo!_ I need your help with something…" Calls Chris, ripping the Quarian Admiral from her thoughts.

* * *

"Director! The alien ships are trying to run!" Said a scanner, "They're retreating!"

"I said to warp ahead! All ships, we're pinning them down!"

"Yes sir, orders resent - Wait! We're reading a massive surge of energy from Pluto! It seems to be coming from the Tuning Gate they broke the moon, Charon, to make!"

_Reinforcements._ Whyte's smile faltered, as his mind began to wonder if the fleet they'd been fighting was simply a reconnaissance fleet.

"We're being hailed!"

"Accept it... Perhaps they are surrendering." Said Whyte.

A few minutes passed, in which the desperate Turian navy continued it's relentless retreat from the superior Human forces, Whyte's scanners were saying that a mere ten thousand Turian ships remained, while the Humans had only lost forty three during the retreat battle.

_"Human Systems Alliance, Summer Fleet, prepare to receive immediate assistance."_ Said an accented voice over the communications.

Silence, for what seemed like an eternity, "What?" Demanded the Director, "What else do we have? We don't need the reinforcements, _who is coming to assist us!?"_ He demanded.

"Scanning, we're trying to paint the vessels appearing above Pluto but they're disappearing the second they arrive!"

"What? How is that possible?"

"I don't know, sir, if they were using Warp-tech we would have registered the space/time anomalies... We can't track these ships the second after they leave the Gate."

"God... I hope they're on our side." Said Whyte, as he looked to the battle again.

Five more minutes would pass, in which the _Piked Shield_ would destroy several more Turian ships, four Human Frigates were destroyed, and forty Turian ones would be killed as they and the humans edged closer and closer to knife-fight range.

_"Sir! Contacts approaching!"_ Shouted a scanner.

"Alien?"

_"No, not them… THEM!"_ The scanner pointed to the Director's left, he looked outwards, and what he saw outside the window silenced him.

* * *

_"Heavy fleet reporting, admirals."_

_"Patrol fleet reporting, admirals."_

_"Special Project fleet reporting, admirals."_

_"Civilian fleet reporting, admirals."_

_"We are nearing the relay… beginning transit in three… two… one…"_

The Quarian ship _Morrule_ shook as the Mass Relay connecting Roof to Earth shot them forward at hundreds of light years a second. The three Quarian admirals, Tierz'Shein, Jorran'Zorah, and Sri'Zoran all stood tall, side by side, with their hands behind their backs.

"I _never_ thought I'd step back aboard my home ship…" Said Shein.

"Do you remember when we found them first?" Asked Zorah, "How they cowered at the mere thought of warfare with another species?"

"It seems like so long ago…" Said Zoran,

"And now they're fighting the single toughest species in the galaxy, and have managed to keep them from conquering their home world for more than three days." Said Shein, "But like all things, they are not perfect, and the Turians are too mighty."

"But we are here. We will begin repaying our debt to human society with an act of violence _long_ coming." Began Zoran, "At the height of the Migrant Fleet's power, we were considered strong enough to take on the _entire_ Turian Navy by ourselves, and possibly even win. Now we're taking on a shattered fraction of the navy, with the Alliance's technology and our fleet upgraded and repaired." He continued, "We are _stronger_ than we were during our height, so if we cannot take out _ten_ thousand ships with our _fifty_, we were not worth the effort the humans put forth to rescue us."

_"Exiting relay transit." _Reported the navigator, and instantly, several hundred Quarian naval vessels flew out of the Relay.

"Quarian Migrant Fleet." Broadcasted the Admiralty board, as the fleet amassed behind them, "This is Admiral Sri'Zoran vas Morrule. As you are well aware, the Human race is currently embroiled in a losing battle with a majority of the Turian Hierarchy's naval forces." He began, "They are fighting to hide our location and to protect their and our people. They do this with no support, at the cost of their home world. _We_, of all species, know how hard losing a homeworld is, and we know how mighty the Hierarchy is, and we know… That without any assistance, the human race will be defeated, and Earth _will_ fall, it is inevitable. This sacrifice the Human Systems Alliance is prepared to make on our behalf is a service and a**_ gift _**the Quarian people can _never_ repay, we are indebted to the humans in ways that are too numerous to list, and as such, we must do **_everything_** we can to help them in _any_ way possible!"

"As we speak, the Alliance Navy is engaging the Turian fleets in a desperate, losing defense of their homeworld. The Turians are rapidly landing ground forces and will control the orbit in a matter of hours. The humans lack shielding technology, and have been severely wounded due to the battle, so their chances of victory are slim at best." Continued Admiral Shein, "We as a species will begin to repay our debts _here_, and _now_, and with the actions we are soon to undertake, we shall declare to the galaxy that the Alliance is a **_FORCE_** to be reckoned with! With this military undertaking, we will declare our unending, undying, unbreaking allegiance to the species that took us in and saved us from extinction, when **_no one else would!"_**

"Many of us may not live to see tomorrow, many more may not live to see the end of the week." Said Jorran'Zorah, as he prepared for the finale, "But that is the price we pay to protect the people we care for, to the people that are willing to _die_ to protect us! We are the _Quarian Race_, and we will **_NOT_** be trifled with again!"

_"ALL SHIPS, FORWARD!" _Ordered Sri'Zoran, over the cheers and shouts of the _fleet_.

"Hail the Humans, let them know what's coming." Said Jorran'Zorah.

_"Understood. Entering FTL and hailing the Human fleet." _.

_"Human Systems Alliance, Summer Fleet, prepare to receive immediate assistance." _Declared Zoran.

"Sir... We're scanning the system... It looks like... It can't be right though..."

"What?" Asked Zoran.

"There are more Human ships than Turian... The Turians are retreating!"

"Impossible..." Said Shein.

"Improbable..."

"'All in a day's work'... For the Human race, correct?" Said Zoran, with a laugh, "So many times they've surprised us... Why not do so again?"

Several minutes passed and Zoran received no answer to his question, when they exited FTL they could almost hear the battlefield grow silent as the thousands, upon thousands, upon thousands of Quarian ships - all outfitted with either Quarian weaponry or Human weaponry - appeared behind their Human allies.

"All ships, focus fire on the remaining Turian Dreadnoughts, the humans, with their ship sizes, are _more_ than capable of handling the Turian Cruisers and Frigates. The **_moment_** you've confirmed the destruction of all Turian Dreadnoughts, you are free to fire upon any enemy target you wish." Ordered Shein.

* * *

"You're saying it's _done,_ Chris?" Asked Talo'Zorn.

"I'm saying I just put the finishing touches on the perfect model, I still need to test it on a Turian ship." Chris insisted, "But I can't do that in-atmosphere." He said.

"Why not?" Asked the Admiral.

"Haven't you been reading my notes? Anti-matter is the single most explosive thing in existence, just a single kilogram touching another kilogram will explode with nearly fifty megatons of force - that's _Nuclear bomb_ power, right there!" Said Chris, "This laser -" He tapped the machine, "Is, essentially, a limitless supply of anti-matter. So if I shot a Turian ship with it, each and every molecule on that ship would be converted to raw energy and would explode. If just a kilogram can hit fifty megatons, an entire fucking ship would put a crater in the planet the size of New York." He said, "While I do indeed need to test it, I'm not doing it on Earth, or any other Human planet for that matter... The risks are too high." He said, "Besides... It'd be just plain stupid to deploy an anti-matter bomb on an inhabited planet..." He looked past Talo for a moment, then back to her, "To do so would prove that you either are very... _very_ fuckin' stupid, or you don't know the first thing about weaponized anti-matter." He said, before he tapped the machine again, "This thing? It's a planet destroyer, waiting to happen."

"But... You were testing it just a few hours ago..." Said Talo.

"Yeah, but I had the target wrapped in an energy shield, a hardened energy shield, nothing's getting through one of those." Said Chris.

"I see... So when _will_ we test it?" She asked.

"When the fight for Earth is done, we can go into the void and test it on a Turian Ship's corpse." Said Chris.

* * *

Turian Councilor Sparatus was _fuming_. He'd been told to hunt the Quarians, he _did_! The war with the humans happened by happenstance, and now he had to call off his forces, make them run away with their heads hanging? He couldn't _believe_ the nerve of the other councilors, _all_ just to save face with some primitive species.

When the communications line opened, the Councilor spoke loudly and clearly, knowing that his fellow councilors were mere feet away from him in the compact room, "Admiral Tor Valast, can you hear me?"

_"COUNCILOR!" _Screamed a voice from the other end of the communicator, _"This is Captain Shor Sumir of the Menae's Speed! We've suffered **heavy** casualties as a result of the Quarian Navy entering the fight! They've destroyed all of the Dreadnoughts and they've got us surrounded! We can't move in any direction, we've only seven thousand ships left, and the Quarians and Humans are tearing us apart!"_

Sparatus' jaw _dropped_. _They've managed to destroy sixteen **thousand** ships? And TWENTY Dreadnoughts!? How in the name of the Spirits is that possible?!_

"Captain, under my authority, get your men and get out of there, it's not worth it."

_"We're trying! But the humans and Quarians have us **surrounded**, and they are marking our ships and they're being hit with some sort of satelite-based Magnetic Accelerator weapon, they're completely ignoring our shields and armor! And none of the ships in the system can get close to them!"_

Eistan's eyes widened fully. _Long-range, satelite based accelerator weapons? Impossible, without Eezo would not make the slug accelerate to speeds enough to do damage... Magnetic accelerator flawed when compared to Mass accelerator... And power source, what would provide enough power to give the weapon the energy it needs when it needs it? Size, far too large to be even feasible, let alone practical, the size one would need could fit a small station into... How can these Humans weaponize satelites? How can they get satelites - that have to be large enough to carry massive Magnetic Accelerator weapons, and be armored enough to take immense damage, not to mention point-defense weaponry - into space? What fuel source do they use, in place of Eezo? Do they even need fuel? Gravity-based travel, perhaps? Hm... No, not possible, energy required would outweigh unique travel technology... Fossil-fuel energy no where near efficient enough, would barely give them enough thrust to leave the atmosphere, let alone the system... Nuclear energy more efficient than Fossil-Fuels, but still not enough, would provide enough energy but only just... enough... energy... Antiparticles perhaps? Yes... Yes... Would provide ample energy and still - wait... No... Far too dangerous, if fuel source comes into contact with ship itself, the ship would explode in a fiery blaze... Not to mention fabrication of the particles... These Humans... So fascinating..._

_"And their travel technology! They're weaponizing it, creating wormholes in front of their ships and firing their weapons into it, so we have no time to evade! They're also creating wormholes in front of our ships, so every time we try to jump out of here with FTL, we run through the wormhole and appear right back in the same spot!" _The Captain shouted, before he paused to listen to a Turian give him a report, _"SPIRITS! EVERYONE, ABANDON -"_ The line went dead.

_"Captainl!"_ Shouted Sparatus, _"Captain, respond!"_ There was no sound, not for several minutes.

_"Councilor! This is the captain of the Palaven's Shield, there's only a few thousand of us left! The second they took out Menae's Shield almost **all** Cruisers were KIA! The Humans and Quarians started focusing on the other ships, their weapons and those satelites are too much! We're losing too many ships too fast, you need to sec-"_ Again, the line went dead.

Every attempt to reconnect to a ship was met with a very brief situations update before the line would go dead. After a few minutes passed, there were no more responses. Everyone had died.

Sparatus' eyes were as large as dinner plates, his jaw was slack, and his mandibles were limp as he realized what he'd just heard: The destruction of two thirds of the _Turian Navy_.

"Sparatus… I hope you are pleased…" Said Tevos, "Now… Once the humans retake their homeworld, they will hunt for us… And we've _no_ idea how to contact them… Unless you were smart enough to save the galactic coordinates to their homeworld?"

Sparatus limply shook his head, "Hierarchy Contingency Troilan... In the event of catastrophic ship destruction as much travel data is to be destroyed as possible." He choked.

"So we do not know where the Humans are? Is that what you're saying?" Demanded Eistan, to which Sparatus nodded.

"We must secure the Citadel… And prepare for attack." The Asari said, as she and Eistan stood up, "I hope, for everyone's sake… You haven't just sparked a war we _all_ must now fight." Finished Tevos, before she and Eistan left the room.

* * *

_"WE DID IT!"_ Were the words that were being screamed from every human and Quarian's mouth in the Alliance fleets. Men and women were abandoning their posts to jump for joy and hug each other, as the last Turian ship exploded and was absorbed by the cold void of space.

Jason Whyte had the galaxy's biggest smile plastered all over his face, and a tear in his eye. The tear wasn't for joy of victory, but for the feat the Quarians had pulled off by reviving the Migrant Fleet. Just as the Alliance Navy was facing utter destruction, the Quarian 'mega' fleet arrived and gave the Alliance the advantage they _needed_ to destroy the fleeing Turians.

He allowed the celebrations to go on for a few minutes, before he cleared his throat, "We did it! We defeated the Turians! **_Damn good_** job, men and women! But we've no time to celebrate, Wells, send the order to all ships to descend to Earth and deploy _everything_ they've got before we mop up any remaining Turian ships. We **_can_** win this!" A thought struck him after his declaration, "And send a request to the Quarians, get the Admiralty board on the _Shield_ as soon as possible." He added.

"Yes sir, relaying orders."

_"Director, I have gotten some interesting news."_ Said the _Shield's_ AI, Roland.

"What?"

_"Myself and the other Alliance AI's, during the cyber warfare, managed to get galaxy maps, galactic encyclopedias, translators, data on **everything** we could need to launch a counter attack!"_ Declared the Artificial Intelligence, proudly.

"_GREAT_ work, Roland! Make sure the information gets passed through the fleet, right now, we move to Earth!" He ordered.

"Director, the Quarians responded, they say they'll get to the Shield as soon as possible."

"Understood. Thank you, wells... When they arrive, I'll be in the communications room."

* * *

_A/N:_

_Alright folks, we've pushed the Turian Fleet from Earth and are beginning the counter-strike on the homeland!_

_Humanity's been pissed off, and with the technology they've gained because of this war, what will they do to show the Galaxy that they will - in one voice- shout that they will **not** go quietly into oblivion?!_

_Er... OUR INDEPENDANCE DAY! :D_  
_Okay, I'm out of half-assed alien movie references, sorry._

_In other news, I'm drawing up a rough outline for the next in the First War series.  
I'll say this, it's not going to be The Geth War.  
My goal [Seeing as how I'm now, more or less, officially turning The First War into a series] is to furtherly distinguish The First War from the established Mass Effect Universe. How am I going to do that? To avoid spoilers, I'm going to make a 'true' Systems Alliance.  
The [Redacted] war will also follow John/Jane Shepard's childhood as s/he goes through the [Redacted]-[Redacted] Program._

_As a subset of the above, I'd like to make a request:  
There's a poll on my profile, if you haven't already, vote in it! The poll will close when the story ends, and the results will decide whether or not there will be a male/female Shepard._

_Also, I'd like to thank my new Beta Reader for helping me out on this chapter. Real life happened this week and I've found myself with a lot less time to write/edit my chapters, so his help with the edits and additions *really* made a difference._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9:

November 4th, 2201

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to the Citadel News Network. We interrupt your regular scheduled programming for a special news bulletin." Said the Asari news anchor, "The Citadel Council has just given an update on the developing situation with the Quarians, from the press-release just a few hours ago, the Council announced that a _new_, _never_ before discovered species was found and contacted by the Quarians. The Quarians proceeded to integrate themselves within the society of the..." The Asari paused trying to remember how to pronounce the word, "Human... Systems Alliance... When the Quarians were discovered, they fired upon the Turian first and second fleets, and were dealt with extreme prejudice. The Turian Navy proceeded to move for the planet they'd assumed to have the largest concentration of Quarians, planet 'Earth'..." She paused, to add somberly, "As it turned out, planet Earth was _not_ home to the Migrant Fleet, but rather the home of the Human race, and a fleet of starships that rivaled the Salarian Union's total naval strength." She explained, "The Systems Alliance, through a bloody battle that lasted more than twenty standard hours, used technology never before seen by the Council Races, to push the Turian fleets from their system." The Asari reporter knew for a fact that it was a half lie, she'd been told by her producers to say that the Turian fleets had been pushed back, instead of being utterly decimated. "The Citadel Council is placing all military assets on their highest levels of alert, and is placing Homeworlds and the Citadel in a state of emergency. Civilians are recommended to stay indoors at nights and not to leave unless in emergency. Large contingents of ships from all Citadel navies are amassing outside as we speak, as the Council prepares for the inevitable Human counter-attack... I am joined today by a greatly respected Asari Matriarch, Benezia T'Soni." She nodded and the camera panned out, revealing the lightly smiling Asari matriarch. "Now, Matriarch Benezia, you yourself have extensively studied past first-contacts and even the war that had occurred between the Vorcha and Batarians as a result of their first contact, how do you expect this conflict to pan out?" She asked.

"To put it simply, with every new species there are unknowns." Said Benezia, "When the Turians sent back their reports, they showed that the Human system had, simply put, little Element Zero within it, aside from what was contained within the Mass Relay." She explained, "As a result, the Human race in and of itself, will become one of the biggest unknowns since the Rachni and Krogan wars. The Rachni, as you are aware, were such a brutal and interconnected species that they brought the Council itself to the knees, but they were taken down by the superior numbers, brutality, and more-developed sentience of the Krogan. The Krogan were an unknown because of their violent nature and their immense breeding numbers. However one thing binds all known races together, Prothean ruins and Element Zero." She continued, "Element Zero and Prothean-based Technology is the single reason no race from the Citadel Council can completely outdo the other, we have such similar technology that the differences between races are limited to genetics only. The Humans, while having an unknown genetic structure, have technology that we cannot possibly predict." She explained, "Reports from the Turians mentioned magnetically accelerated weapons, energy barriers, and other such oddities."

"But... Surely the Council is ready to face this threat?" She asked, "Surely they are strong enough to take on the Humans?"

"Of course, the Citadel Council is the single most powerful form of government to have ever existed in our Galaxy." Said Benezia, "I forsee two different outcomes occuring, because of the Turian invasion of Earth." She said, "Either the damage done by the Turian invasion will strike fear into the hearts of every Human in the Galaxy, or it will bring forth violent feelings of vengeance, in which case we will enter a state of war not seen since the Krogan Rebellions. That is not to say that we will lose, however, we are the Citadel Council. With every race united we can and _will_ push the Humans back to their Earth, and we can and _will_ proceed to bomb them back to a prehistoric age."

"So... Victory, with losses?"

Benezia looked like she had much more to say, but she settled by saying, "Yes. Victory is assured, but so are losses."

* * *

"Spirits..." Said Primarch Fedorian, as he watched the latest reports from the First and Second fleets, or, the better term would be, lack thereof. This, coupled with the latest news from the Citadel drew him to one conclusion, he flung open his omni-tool, "Primus, call in every asset you can that isn't being deployed to the Citadel, we need to shore up Palaven's defenses." He ordered, "Get half of whatever you can call in and get them to guard the Relay, everything else gets deployed here." He added, "Bring planetary readiness to level three and be ready to bring it to level one in an instant." The Primarch finished.

"Yes sir." The connection cut a moment later.

The Primarch couldn't believe what he'd been hearing. First he'd had two of his fleets dragged away from patrol and Palaven Defense duties to hunt the _Quarians_ of all species, then he'd gotten reports that the fleets had met a new species, proceeded to bomb them, and had proceeded to be annihilated by the enemy, who even the _Salarians_ had little to no intelligence on! For Fedorian, many things didn't add up, but he had no time to brood upon this, as he needed to shore up Palaven's defenses.

* * *

_"Alright, Squad, this is how we're looking."_ Said John Doe, S1, to his squad of five SIGMA Operatives in this shuttle, and over the communicators to the fleet of other SIGMA's in other shuttles, that were barreling down to Tokyo. _"Right now, Tokyo is the Crow's best beach-head on Earth. They've cleared that place out and set up shop, so we're being called in to aid in a joint-strike with the Self Defense Force, Alliance Marines, and the like. The allied forces will be moving in on ground, and we're heading in by air."_ He explained, _"But we've got a problem."_

_"We're SIGMA's, sir, when don't we have problems?" _Asked another SIGMA, over the radio.

_"What day is today?"_ Asked John.

_"Tuesday."_

_"We didn't have problems yesterday. And yesterday I'd tell you the same damn thing."_ Said John, _"Now, the enemy force has dozens, and dozens, and _dozens_ of Anti-aircraft cannons in the city, on sky-scrapers, on streets, even one or two on some suburban houses."_ He explained, _"And once our ships breech the cloud barrier, they'll have to fight Crow aerial forces and dodge the AA-Emplacements, and having us stuck in here won't help one bit."_

_"What are you getting at, S1?"_ Asked a SIGMA.

_"We're wing-suiting in, remember last month when everyone's armor was taken away? The upgrades to the body-suits were handed out during that time, we've got gliders now."_ Said John.

_"Oh wow, you mean we're going to Batman the Crows?"_ Asked a SIGMA, as he chuckled.

John heard a 'zip' noise from within the shuttle, he looked to his left and saw Jeffrey S77 testing his 'wings'. A few minutes passed before the entire shuttle was filled with 'zip' noises, as the Humans activated their wing-suits and got ready for deployment. Many were passing jokes and making fun of their suddenly flying-squirrel [Or, as many of them referred to it, 'Batman'] appearance, and John didn't have any mind to stop them. He knew they were all anxious, and possibly even scared, at the prospect of aliens attacking the Homeworld, and John didn't blame any of them. He'd been a SIGMA the longest of anyone alive - he was in his sixties, and thanks to modern medical tech and his 'Sig-Augs', he looked no older than thirty two - and _he_ was anxious, and scared. He'd done several missions in the Arctic Warzone, a few missions on Eden to stop some Terra Firma cells, and even one or two missions on Mars when a rogue EMP wave hit an AI disk, and caused all the mechs to attack everything in sight. (He had fond memories of taking down the Titan-class mech with a frag grenade, and a combat-knife.). Every time he set out on a mission, he never felt any trace of fear, because he knew he was serving his species and would serve with the rest of his life, such was the requirement of becoming a SIGMA Operative. However, now he was fighting an alien species. This was as unknown as it could get, for all he knew the Crows were all SIGMA in skill, or perhaps these were _alien_ Super Soldiers, and they'd make the SIGMAs look like kids.

_No..._ He told himself_ We are SIGMAs. We are gods._ He recited, _There is no one else who will defeat our cause._ He thought, as he heard the pilot tell the squad-leaders that they'd be breeching the cloud barrier in a few seconds. _We serve Humanity with our lives, for there is no one else with our skill, our strength, our determination... Let those who attempt to kill our young, slaughter our women, destroy our men, break our cities, and burn our worlds, cower in fear under our skill, and our determination. Let those who attempt to hurt our people, destroy our society, or hurt our way of life, burn, as we destroy them all with the might and skill never before seen in Human History._

_"Twenty seconds!"_

_And let God have mercy upon those who attack our Homeworld... Our Mother... Our... Earth._

_"Ten seconds!"_ The light went red, the SIGMAs all got to their feet.

_Because we shall not show such mercy._

_"Five seconds!"_

_For God and for Species... We shall end their lives._

The light went green, the shuttle opened, the SIGMAs sprinted out and leapt. And the single largest SIGMA Operation in Human History began.

* * *

"What in the name of the Spirits are they doing?" Asked General Shin Somal, as he looked into the air and saw the fleet of Human shuttles descend and break the cloud barrier. The fact that the Humans were counter attacking wasn't what surprised him - if he was honest with himself, he expected it, ever since he lost contact with the fleets, - but what surprised Shomal was what the Humans in the shuttles were doing.

They were _leaping out_ of the Shuttles. What person in their right mind would leap out of their shuttle? Didn't they know that doing so was _certain_ death? Perhaps this was a Human surrender motion, or maybe they were trying to tell the Turians something? Why in the name of the Spirits were they leaping to their death?

"It looks like they're trying to kill themselves... Sir..." Said a Turian First Strike Ground Trooper, "What are your orders?"

"Activate the anti-air cannons and get them shooting, get the air assets ready to begin the aerial defense." Ordered Somal, "Try and make some sense into -" Then he saw it, the purpose of the Humans' rash actions.

They spread their arms and legs and there was some sort of material that caught the air as they fell through the air. The material hit the air at just the right moment so that the Humans could _glide_ through the air, at such speeds that the AA guns couldn't hit them! The Humans were _literally_ flying into battle!

"The Humans are trying to land ground forces, concentrate all infantry fire and kill those damn things!" Ordered Somal.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

_"They're trying to shoot us down!"_ Shouted a SIGMA, as his squad banked hard to the left to avoid the missile that nearly slammed into them.

_"Really? It's THAT obvious?"_ Teased another, as his squad did the same.

_"Stay focused and stay on target, SIGMA's!" _Ordered John S1, as he sped directly towards a rather large AA gun. The Turians were very obviously caught unaware by the Humans' tactics, and John quickly realized that the Turians were trying and failing to adapt. They were using mounted machine guns and unguided rocket launchers to try and hit the SIGMAs. Many a time they would actually attempt to lead the Humans, but the Super Soldiers' augmented reflexes would give them the extra split-second the needed to make a harsh turn or a sudden dive to avoid the shots that would have more than likely ended them. John's fears about the Turians possibly being better fighters were put to rest when they were unable to adapt to a simple - and, he might add, _ancient_ - tactic of quick atmospheric deployment of troops.

_"Squad, deploy flaps!"_ Ordered John, and a moment later the flaps, extensions and other such things on his armor all extended at once for a single moment, utterly killing John and the other SIGMA's momentum. They used their wing-suits to glide gracefully to the ground, and upon hitting the ground with their boots the wings molded back into the SIGMA's body-suits.

_"We've got contacts, left side!"_ Said a SIGMA, as he, John, and the rest of their squad ran cover-to-cover to their target AA gun.

_"Have they seen us?"_ Asked John.

_"Negative, they're still watching the show."_ Said the SIGMA, 'The Show' being the aerial battle raging above them, and the Human soldiers hurtling towards the ground.

_"Keep an eye on them, and watch your trackers, let's move! Air forces are coming in, in T-Minus three minutes!" _Ordered John, as he and his squad continued moving.

* * *

"Director... You wished to see us?" Asked Quarian Admiral Sri'Zoran, as he and the other two available Admirals arrived in the debriefing room aboard the SSV _Piked Shield_.

"Greetings... Admirals." Said Jason Whyte, as he bade the Quarians to sit. Once they did, he got right down to it, "So. Tell me why the Turians were looking _specifically_ for your people." He demanded.

Zoran was the first to speak, after a startled silence, "I beg your... Arson?"

"Pardon." Corrected Whyte, "And don't tempt me... I spoke with the Turian Admiral, 'Tor Valast'. He told me that they attacked us because we were 'harboring' you, and because you attacked them above some planet and fled the scene. He said you were _enemies_ of a Galactic Government. We _specifically_ asked you about this, several months ago." Whyte stated, he strained to keep his voice calm, and collected, he didn't want to send the wrong message to the SIGMA Operatives that were cloaked, right outside the briefing room.

"He said what? We are not anyone's enemies, Director." Assured Tierz'Shein.

Whyte slammed his fist on the table, startling the admirals, "Don't... Lie... To me." He said, slowly, "And don't lie to the millions who've died within the last twenty four hours. The innocent civilians in New York, the soldiers who've died in the line of duty... The alien marines who attacked under misguided orders... " He paused, "You... Knew... And you lied to us. _Everything_ of our two race's histories we were told had been shared. And now _Earth_ is being burned right below us, because you lied. I would have thought _your_ people, of anyone, would understand the pain of having your homeworld injured." Said Whyte, "I would have thought your people, _if_ anyone, would have the absolute most to lose if you lied and were caught."

"Director -"

"Let... Me... Finish."

* * *

"Calling in a Kinetic Rod strike, Ron, you got the target lazed?!" Demanded John, as he leaned behind cover, activated his suit's holographic interface, and began making the necessary commands to call in a Rod from God.

_"I set up the beacon instead, that sniper in the Spire has me pinned down!"_ Said Ron over the radio.

_"This is Bravo 3-4 actual, we hear you! Give us six seconds!"_ Said another SIGMA, and exactly six seconds a rocket flew through the air and slammed into the crow's nest that held the Crow snipers.

_"Thanks Bravo 3-4!"_ Said Ron.

_"Kinetic rods incoming, ETA fifteen seconds! Move!"_ Ordered John, before he and his squad leapt to their feet and ran from the AA Gun as fast as they could. The rods they were calling in weren't nuke speed, but being anywhere within fifty meters of Ground Zero would still be testing it's lethality. John once again took in his surroundings as he and his squad sprinted away from the cannon, above them, in the night sky, the SIGMA Transport Crafts were engaging the Crow fighters, with the AA Guns giving the Crows the advantage. But these AA Guns were rapidly being destroyed by any combination of RPG's, C-7 plastic explosives, or Kinetic Strikes. Where at the beginning of the battle the Crows had nearly a hundred AA Guns, now their numbers were within the range of twenty three, with one more being taken away every passing moment. The area around him was very obviously war-torn. The street they were sprinting across was pock-marked with craters and scorched from explosions, it was littered with bodies of both Crow and Human. As well, around him a fierce battle was being raged, there was no clear 'Human' or 'Crow' side in the battlefield, it was more or less just an enormousdisorganized, organized battle, with squads fighting anywhere they saw each other.

_"Here they come!"_ Roared one of John's squad-mates over the radio.

"Get down!" Ordered John, he and his squad dived to the ground, just as it began shaking violently because of the Kinetic strike.

* * *

"If our people figure out about the reasons the Turians came to our shores, they will want your blood. And I'll be damned if they don't want _all_ of it." Said Jason Whyte, leaving no question as to what he meant. "The fact that you came to help us, despite knowing that many of your people wouldn't survive, does relieve a lot of tension that that has existed between our races, and that will come as a result of this event... But the fact remains, _your people_ brought this upon ours." Said Whyte.

"Director, you must understand that, had we not been taken in by you and yours, our species would have _died_... Most likely within the year!" Said Sri'Zoran, "We were all but forced to lie, yes we knew we'd attacked the Turians but first of all, we didn't know that the planet was _their's_!" He pointed out, "We'd found it while doing recon in a system we were settling in, and because we didn't see anyone on it we scrambled to colonize it! The Turians came and one of our captains attacked, so we _all_ had to attack! We will take responsibility for our actions, but I _swear_ to you, Director, we did not know they'd declared us enemies and fugitives, and we did not know they would pursue war with _your_ people instead of hunt _us_ down, specifically!"

"But the fact remains that they _did_... And so we must retaliate." Said Whyte, to the amazement of the Quarians.

"You're... what?" Asked Zorah.

"We'll be retaliating in force. This 'Citadel Council' hasn't faced a reality shaking discovery since the... Krogan Rebelions, they were called? Ever since then they've been riding high on their millennia old victory. So high that they've become cocky, and arrogant, they attacked _us_, and didn't know what they were getting into - they still don't!" He insisted, "And we're going to show them just what kind of mistake they made." He said.

"How?" Asked Zoran.

"I'm sure you've been briefed on our public arsenal of Nuclear Armaments?" Asked Whyte, to which he received many nods, and before he could continue, Tierz'Shein interrupted him.

"You _can't_ be thinking of deploying a Planet Shaker on Palaven! It would violate so many Citadel Laws, you may have the entire Council declare war upon you!" He declared.

"There we are again with Citadel Laws... You see, the Systems Alliance isn't - and will _never_ - be within Citadel Law. As we stand, we are a sovereign entity, attacked by another. So we will fight back, how we deem fit." He explained, "And to answer your concerns, we _will_ drop a Planet Shaker on the Turian Homeworld, that much is certain." He said, "But the reason I bring this up, isn't to tell you of Palaven's fate, but to tell you of the Turian first-colonized world's fate."

Zoran wracked his memories, "Miersan? What are you going to do to it?" He asked.

Whyte paused for a few moments, "Three years ago, a class of nuclear weapon was introduced to us by one Jason McGraw." He began, "A class of Nuclear weapon, that redefined the ancient phrase made when Humanity first entered the Nuclear age... _'Now I am become Death... The Destroyer of worlds.'_..." He paused.

"Ancestors..." Zorah was the first to realize what Whyte was implying, "You _can't..._ There's no _possible_ way!"

"I have... I will... And there is." Said Whyte, "There are only three Planet Destroyers in the entire Human stockpile, and that isn't because of lack of want, but because of the immense cost it takes to make them." He began, "Ten pounds of anti-matter, combined with two Planet-Shaker class detonation packs. When deployed it activates a digger-class laser beam located on it's nose, and drills thirty miles into the planet's surface. Afterwards, it detonates. It has _never_ been tested, but simulations show that it has enough force to destroy an Earth-sized planet with _half_ of it's total ordinance."

"And you plan to use this on Miersan? What could possibly cause you to think that outright _destroying_ a planet is warranted!?" Demanded Zorah.

"Well... The surviving members of the UN wanted me to destroy Palaven... But I talked them down." Said Whyte.

"But still, what would warrent such a devastating response?!" Demanded Zorah, it was clear he was outraged by this.

"It is meant as many things. First, as a show of power. That we can go in, deploy a weapon, and leave, within a few hours, and with irreparable consequences." Whyte said, "Secondly, it is meant to show the Turians what we are _willing_ to do to defend our planets. Thirdly, it is meant as a warning... Both to this 'Council' _and_ to you."

_"US?!"_ Demanded Shein, "WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE ANCESTORS DEMANDS YOU TO WARN US?!" He screamed.

"You lied to _us_, and now Earth has been shaken because of it." Said Whyte, "You withheld information from us, and now Turians will pay. You brought war to our shores, and now everyone will pay. We are warning _you_ with this act, we are warning you never to lie to us again. We are showing you what we are willing to save Human lives."

"Burning _billions_ in Nuclear fire will _save_ Human lives?!" Demanded Sri'Zoran.

"Yes. It will scare the Council into submission, and when we drop a Planet Shaker on Palaven, they will be scared into unconditional surrender." He stated.

"Director, I do not think you are thinking clearly... You _must_ realize what you are saying, here!" Said Zoran.

"I am thinking clearly. An immense show of force will prove to the Council that they will lose _far_ more than they will gain by attacking us." Whyte explained.

"But you must realize that you are threatening to destroy planets belonging to the race that _neutered_ the Krogan!" Said Shein.

"We are smarter than the Krogan. Once we win the battle for Earth, we are removing all relays pointing into, and out of Human space. We're burning our settlement off of Roof and removing the ship corpses from it's orbit. If they even _tried_ to neuter us again, our AI's and scientists are smart and skilled enough to forge an antidote. And if we couldn't cure it, we'd ignore it by investing a bit more heavily in cloning technology. We've read your codices, Admirals, we know what to expect."

"But what do you think your _children_, and your _grandchildren_ will think of this? Of your decision to destroy entire worlds?!" Asked an Admiral.

"They'll think we were in the right." Said Whyte, "They'll think our fears of alien species were true and know that we, as a young people, needed to do this in order to establish our standing in the Galaxy." He stated.

"Your kind only has _two_ planets colonized under your name! The Citadel Council has a total four hundred thirty two!" Said Zorah, "Territorially alone, they'll destroy you!"

"They rely upon relays to find us. Eden is the closest to the Sol System distance-wise, yes, but it still is far too long for any of your ships to travel, with no magnetic field to discharge it's pent up energy." He said, "And Roof, which had a Relay pointing _right at us_, was several hundred Light Years away, much _much_ farther than Eden. So even if they found Eden, or Valhalla, they will not find Earth." Said Whyte.

* * *

_"Earth forces coming in! Watch the skies and check your ID Tags before firing!" _Called a SIGMA, as John pulled a wounded Operative from the battle.

"Where the hell is the Navy? We need to take out that ship or we won't have complete aerial control!" Declared Whyte.

_"We've got a few Destroyers moving in off-shore and an Alliance Frigate with a damaged Warp-Drive heading towards us from Beijing!" _A SIGMA responded, _"That ship looks like it's doing something!"_ He added.

John S1 looked into the air, the ship looked as if it was retreating, but in just a moment, he realized what it was doing. He tossed his friend over his shoulders and made his way for cover, both his and his ally's shields flared violently under the Turian fire, but he knew his armor would protect them if the shields died. _"Get down! Find cover, broadcast this message to everyone in the Tokyo area, the Crows are pulling out but they're leaving us a present!"_ John shouted.

_"Jesus, what kind of present?!"_

_"The same god damned kind they left at New York! Find cover!"_ John Ordered, after he found some relatively stable cover for him and his squadmate. He began firing at the rapidly advancing Crows. He'd been separated from his squad a while ago, and his Bio-comm had told him that many were suffering from some degree of injury, but nothing life threatening.

* * *

Captain Sin Tanan was the last Turian Captain in enemy space. It wasn't an estimation, or a fear, it was fact. He'd stopped getting reports from _every_ other Turian ship in Human space, on the planet or in the void, fighting the Human Navy. His was a Cruiser of rather formidable build, but he _knew_ he couldn't face the entirety of the Human navy. He knew his people would look down upon him for his decision, but it was one that had to be made. This city was the one victory the Hierarchy had gained over the Humans, and he would be _damned_ if it was rescinded on anyone's _but_ his terms. So he'd ordered his cruiser to re-angle itself above the city, and fire it's weapon, full-charge. Many of the crew had disagreed with the decision, but he knew it had to be done. These Humans had to be put down _hard_, and he knew that they'd sent a vast majority of their special forces operatives into this counter-attack, so if he destroyed them, he'd cripple the Human's special forces operatives. He'd only wished he'd had time to use the sole weakness he'd found against the Humans, this weakness was, funnily enough, their greatest strength: Their technology. Most - if not, all - Turian tech was shielded and hardened against Electro Magnetic Pulses, but a vast majority of Human tech wasn't. When he'd invaded this small country, he'd used an experimental maneuver and discharged the Eezo core above the city, which effectively wiped out all technology within several miles, and allowed the Turians to take it within a few hours. Sadly, if he tried this again, it would achieve little results, due to the lack of static buildup in the Eezo Core, so striking the planet was his best bet at doing as much damage as he could.

"Captain... We've angled towards the planet... We're ready when you are... Sir." Said a navigator.

Tanan sighed, he knew he'd regret this decision, but he also knew he wouldn't have to live with it for long. "Fire all." He ordered, and the ship shook with the force of it's Mass Accelerator weapon firing at full strength. It fired at least six times before the heat sinks overheated and wouldn't fire anymore.

* * *

_"The ship just fired!"_

_"Six shots, six shots fired!"_

_"All Human forces get down!"_ Ordered a SIGMA.

The ground shook violently, as the Alien ship's projectiles slammed into the ground, the collective force and raw power of the slugs exploded with the force of a nuclear weapon. John S1's shields took a lot of damage, but they still couldn't handle the shockwave when it hit him, and slammed him into a wall. John ripped himself from the wall he'd been slammed into, and had a tough time staying on his feet, as the ground only shook more and more violently. He could hear the death-cries of many a SIGMA in his radio, and outside he could hear buildings falling and fires raging, but he heard no gunshots, it was as if the entire battle had been put on hold because of the Kinetic kill-strike. He tried to find somewhere safe to hide, but quickly realized he had to get out from the garage he'd retreated to, because the building was shaking violently in tandem with the ground. John ran outside - his injured ally on his back - and into a thick dust cloud that had formed because of the strike.

John looked for somewhere - _anywhere - _that he could use as a temporary shelter for the duration of the quakes. Eventually he found a small fort-like pile of sturdy looking rubble. He decided it was better than nothing, and ran straight for it.

* * *

"And this is why we are retaliating like we will." Said Whyte, as he looked at the _live_ satellite feed from Japan. A Turian ship had hit the city with a Kinetic strike of the same - albeit a slight bit weaker - strength that had hit New York. "They care not for their _own_ laws. They will do whatever they see fit to win. They claim to be the better man in this war, but twice now they have struck the Earth with weapons that were supposed to be barred from planetary use." He said, "I'll say it here, and you can quote me on this... The Council is a ticking time bomb. They are horribly ineffective at their jobs, if this is what they resort to in the face of a superior enemy. Rules and laws are all fine and dandy for them, until they show the slightest hint of losing. Then it's no holds barred, all hands on deck." He said, as the satellite feed zoomed out, to show an Alliance frigate unleashing a furious close-range assault on the Turian ship, which fell to the ground in a fiery heap a few moments later.

"I... I can see why you are angry, Director... And, fine, I can see dropping a bomb on Palaven... But _no_... Destroying a world it's... It's immoral! It shouldn't be done!" The Admiral said, "I can understand why you would want to cause as much harm to someone who harmed your homeworld, if _anyone_ the Quarians feel your pain, but Director, I implore you think about this! Do you truly think that destroying an immensely populated Turian world will solve anything?" Asked Tierz'Shein.

The Director sighed, he decided to see what the Quarian would suggest, "What do _you_ think the correct course of action would be?" He asked.

"I understand your want to show your race's power, and to be honest, I support it!" Shein said, "But not when targeting such a densely populated world... Perhaps you should consider... Other... Planets, instead of their first-colonized planet." He suggested.

Whyte began to think he knew where the Quarian was going, "What planet do _you_ have in mind?"

"Eidesche. The Turians have to have a small settlement there, you can overwhelm that planet's defenses - if they _have_ any! - and destroy it. Then use the comm-buoys to fake a distress signal, so the Council can come in and see what you've done." He said, "You show what your race is capable of, they see that you intend to continue your war, and _how_ you intend to continue your war."

"But destroying a A Class Five Colonized Planet wouldn't bring the body-count I _want_ to thrust upon the Turians. A Class two, or one, yes. A five? No, not even close." Said Whyte.

"But you will _show_ the Council what you can do, you realize. You'll show them that you can be merciful as well, you can launch yourselves into any system that you want in an instant, you can overwhelm that system's defenses in a day, and then you can _destroy_ that system's garden world in an hour! In less than two days you'll have cost the Council something they can_not_ replace: A planet!" Said Shein, "With your travel technology, you _literally_ have the entire Galaxy within your grasp, the Council and other Eezo-using races - _including_ ourselves! - are limited to only systems within reach of a Mass Relay."

Whyte sighed, "I'll think about it... Admiral. I may leave the decision up to the Earth Governments, put it up to a vote." He said, before he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm going to retire after this war... I've seen far too much the last few months." He said.

* * *

John Doe S1's head was ringing. He opened his eyes, and was greeted with a cracked visor, and a malfunctioning HUD. He got off his back and removed his helmet, shaking his head as he did so, trying to remove the fog from his augmented brain. He looked at the damaged helmet for a moment, it held a distinct visual similarity to a Gas-mask, though not the 'Goggles' gas-mask that had seen a rise in popularity a few decades ago due to it's cheapness, but a 'Visor' gas-mask. The visor on his helmet was gold-colored, but frosted so it didn't reflect anything, and he could change it to go black or some other dark color if he ever wished. John tossed away to broken piece of headgear, and looked to his left, he was greeted with the fresh corpse of the ally he'd tried to save during the quakes - which, he noted, had stopped. John crawled over to his SIGMA Comrade and felt for a pulse, when he felt none, he said a quick prayer and took the Operative's dog-tags. John scavenged some ammunition for his side-arm from the fallen soldier, and then left the make-shift fort he'd taken shelter in.

Outside the dust was thick in the air, he could barely see a few meters in front of his face. He pulled out his side-arm and started moving, looking for any Human he could find. In the distance he could hear buildings falling, and felt the ground shake when they did so. He could hear gunfire as well, so someone, somewhere, was still fighting the war, that meant he had to do so as well, because he was a SIGMA, it was his duty to fight, it was his _honor_ to fight.

John crouched low and rounded a corner, making sure to keep his feet light so as not to make any noise. When he rounded the corner he saw a small squad of Crow soldiers regrouping and trying to find out what next to do. He highly doubted they had his augmented vision, and therefore his sight-range, so he took advantage of this as he pulled out and primed a grenade. He let it cook for a few moments, before he over-handed it directly into the midst of the aliens. The grenade exploded, killing several and injuring the rest. John took this moment to fire a few shots from his pistol - executing a few Turians - while he sprinted forward, pistol in one hand, combat-knife in the other. When he got to the Crows, one who was still on his feet attempted to attack him, but John slapped the Crow's talon away and shot him in the face. Another crow came out of the alley to John's six O' clock, and tried to put him in an alien choke-hold, but John responded by bracing his feet and leaping backwards. His fall was cushioned by the surprised alien, who was stabbed in the face the moment John recovered, deep blue blood covered John's blade when he removed it from the alien's avian head.

_"Ashal! Ashal von shei!"_ Declared one of the Crows, John whipped around and pointed his pistol at the Crow in question, who dropped it's rifle at John's feet and got to it's knees. _"Ashal!"_ It repeated, it's hands raised.

"Sorry bud... My orders were to kill... Not take prisoners." Said John, before he shot the Crow and ended it quickly.

John heard the air thunder and boom, he looked above and squinted his eyes, and managed to just barely catch the sight of several jets flying overhead. He could hear their weapons go off, and hear some explosions in the distance, the Japanese air force had obviously begun their fight, but he wondered how long ago they'd begun fighting for Tokyo's husk. John began moving again, but froze when his ear perked up. He heard something, it was behind him, it was sneaking up on him. He tightened the grip on his knife and felt the weight of the gun, it was nearly empty, so he'd have to make every shot count.

John took one breath in, and one out. Another in, another out, before he whipped around and slashed at the figure with his knife. The figure's arm whipped up to shield it's head, which would have been cut into if it hadn't. Energy shields came to be when the knife slammed into the immediate area of the armor, John's hand was flung away, but he used the momentum to whip around again and slam his fist into the figure's face. Acting on instinct and muscle-memory, John attempted to bring about his gun and shove it underneath the chin of the figure, but the figure reacted with lightning-fast reflexes and slapped the gun away, before it tried to grab John by the throat, and was impeded by his shields. John slammed his armored foot into the stomach of the figure and sent him sailing into the ground. John then stomped onto the figure's chest and pinned it on the ground, before he pointed his gun at the figure's head.

It was now when John exited his 'battle haze' and got a good look at the figure. He immediately recognized the distinct logo of the SIGMA Program, and realized he'd been battling a SIGMA Operative. His foot left the Human's chest and his knife went in it's sheathe, before his hand went to hover in front of the Human.

"Sorry about that, friend, instinct." He said, not at all out of breath.

"Same." Said the Human, his voice slightly synthesized by his helmet's speakers.

"What's your name?" Asked John, as the SIGMA accepted his hand and hauled himself to his feet.

"Jack-S33, you?"

"John-S1" Said John, nodding, "Have we gotten any new orders from the Alliance?" He asked.

"They'll be deploying Terraforming Disks here and in New York to get rid of the cloud, but other than that, our orders remain the same. Though with the way the fighting's been for the last half hour, we won't be needed pretty soon."

"I've been out since the strike hit, what's been happening?" Asked John, as he and Jack made their way through the streets.

"The Japanese are _pissed_ the Crows hit Tokyo. They rolled in with tanks and gunships the second they saw the cloud, the smoke and the dust." Said Jack, "They've simply been carving their way to the center of Tokyo, pushing everything that isn't Human along with them, or leaving them dead behind 'em." He explained.

"Any projected losses from the strike?"

"Half of whoever was here, minimum. Fighting was intense right below the ship, we were trying to set up a Rail Gun to strike it's engines, but it hit us first."

"Half... God damn." Said John, as he realized how staggering that number was. SIGMA Soldiers were supposed to be undefeatable, nearly un-killable, yet the aliens had just taken out thousands in less than an hour.

"SIGMA Squads are pissed too." Said Jack, "I heard over the comms that we're getting a majority of the kills... You ever see a pissed off Super Soldier?"

"Not in my lifetime... No."

"Well I'll tell you, it's terrifying, and _I'm one of them!"_ Said Jack, "They aren't staying put, whenever they can move forward they can, and if ever they can take a shot, they will."

"Interesting... Projected enemy losses since the strike?"

"Two thirds, minimum. Fighting's projected to be over in an hour, max."

"Then we better find where they are, get back in the fight." Said John, Jack nodded in response and they continued down the ruined streets.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Some folks have been wondering what this 'All Powerful' Alliance's weaknesses were, as they've seemed to be immensely lucky, when it comes to contact with the Canon-ME Aliens.  
Well in this chapter, you'll have seen quite a few. One was very obvious, and a few more were implied, rather than outright stated. I do understand that I - both intentionally, and unintentionally - crafted the Humans out to be gods of the battlefield, when pitted against the Turians, and I am trying to rewrite a few things here and there to point out the flaws in Humanity's military. _

_As well, after a trip to the ME Wiki I discovered - via a link given to me thanks to my Beta - that Canon Turian Dreadnoughts don't fire at lightspeed.  
Not even close, if I remember right, it's around %1.4 or %1.3 the speed of light. I've already said that Human Rail Guns fire at much... *Much* faster speeds [I think at one point I said ODP's fired around five or six, maybe more maybe less, I haven't re-read my stuff in a while, forgive me.], so that obviously places a much larger gap between TFW Humans and Canon Turians.  
I am planning on addressing that in the future, I'm just going to bounce some ideas off my Beta next time he and I hit each other up on Skype. So rest assured, I am aware I f*cked up, and am making efforts to change it.  
__However, it was brought to my attention that - apparently - my understanding of Kinetic Barriers was completely and utterly, wrong. I have no excuse for that, I just used what I understood. I don't have any plans on changing _that_, because that would entail me having to re-write all of the naval battles between the Turians and Humans, so the TFW-verse Kinetic Barriers tech will remain as written_

_Anyways, moving on, I'm writing up an outline for the next War story. It **won't** be The Geth War [The tentative title for the ME1 story], it'll be another OC story, in the same idea as this one. With Mass Effect: The [Next] War, I plan on furtherly separating the Humans - and the War-verse - from the Canon ME Verse, and hopefully the way I execute it will be satisfactory. I'm also working on back-stories and character progression charts for John/Jane Shepard, they are... I__n essence, the same thing, but the Romance [Of which, I'll say it here, there will be.] will change for each gender. The results of the poll currently on my profile directly influence these stories, and charts, so please, for the sake of the story, vote! (Thank you to those 200+ who have, by the way!)_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10:

November 6th, 2201

* * *

Alliance Director of Affairs, Jason Whyte, sat in the Piked Shield's Captain's Quarters, his hands were interlocked and his head rested upon them. He would never admit it - save to a very specific, very select few people - but he felt as if the weight of the entire galaxy had been thrust upon his shoulders to bear alone in the last few months. He'd known that this job could produce situations he'd never been prepared for, but he'd never - _ever -_ expected this. It all began when he'd signed the order to explore beyond Alliance space, then he and his species had met the Quarians, who almost literally thrust all of their problems onto the shoulders of the Alliance. It was a weight he - at the time - thought he could bear, and thus did so without complaint. But now the decision to ally with the Quarians - and the 'weight' it brought - had become much heavier than he could have ever anticipated. Two of Earth's largest cities were in ruins because of this alliance, and millions upon millions of Humans - and thousands of Quarian marines who'd come to reinforce the Earth forces - were all dead because a simple case of misinformation. The Quarians had failed to realize the gravity of their actions on Eidesche, the Turians had failed to realize the scope of their actions above Earth, and the Humans had failed to understand that running into every situation head-first wasn't always the best of decisions. The data-pad on his desk, containing his signature, did not help the situation at all.

He had to make a decision, so he'd done so.

_Executive order, signed and authorized by me..._ He thought, as he stared blankly at the data-pad in front of him. _God forgive us... _He thought, as he heard his door open.

"Director Whyte, the _Shield_ should be entering Earth's orbit in five minutes." Said Whyte's yeoman, as she placed a cup of coffee on his desk, "Shuttle should be ready a few minutes after that." She added.

"Thank you, Wells." He said.

She didn't move for a few moments, "Is something the matter, sir?" She asked.

"What's your opinion on this, Wells? The entire thing. First contact, the Turians, the attack, our counter attack..." He listed off.

Wells was caught off guard, but she answered quickly enough, "I believe that the Turians are in the wrong in this situation, Director... I believe we are the better men, allowing their Prisoners of War decent living conditions, among other things." She said, "Whatever we choose to do to retaliate can't possibly compare to New York and Japan."

Whyte sighed, "I don't know about that." He said, tapping the data-pad, "Do you know what this is?" He asked.

"Casualty reports?" The Yeoman guessed.

"Close." Said Whyte, "It's proof that we _aren't_ the better men." He stated, before he sighed again, "They're authorization papers, bearing my signature." He explained, "I just authorized the dropping of a Planet Shaker on alien worlds."

He expected the Yeoman to gasp, to try and convince him to rescind his signature, or to demand why he would do such an atrocious thing. So her response caught him off guard, "Do you believe that doing so would be in the best interest of our species, Director?" She asked.

He sighed, and hung his head in his hands once again, "I don't know." He stated, "Militarily? Yes. It will prove to this... 'Citadel Council'... That ours is a force to be reckoned with." He began, "But societally? Morally? What does it say about us? We are ready to condemn the Turians for leveling _two_ cities out of, literally millions. And yet I just sent the authorization orders, fleet-wide, that it's okay to do the same - no, _worse_ - to them." He stated, "You said it yourself, we're supposed to be the better men here." He said, he then indicated the data-pad, "But what does this say? It says we're not the better men, we're monsters willing to burn billions in Nuclear Fire because they pissed us off." He said, "It proves that we're willing to take the phrase 'an eye for an eye' and turn it into 'a bomb for a bomb'." He sighed, "I just want to know if I just made the right decision, or if I just doomed my race by writing my name on a piece of holographic material."

"Sir, I can tell you beyond the shadow of a doubt, that one of Mankind's most admirable traits is that we survive." She said, "Under all possible conditions we survive and we thrive. We've lived through an ice-age, three world wars, global pandemics, nuclear attacks, trips to the stars, and now an alien incursion." She said, "Nothing could ever doom our species, least of all a name on a piece of paper." She said, "Besides... If you want my honest opinion? I believe dropping a bomb on them would be the smartest decision." She said, "I mean, you just have to look at it from a larger perspective than your own... We are - in essence - the new kids on the block." She said, "And the Turians have - keeping with the metaphor - thrown a rock through our window, they expect us to take this sitting down, to just call the police and waste time pointing fingers. What we should do is throw a bigger rock through _their_ window." She said.

"But this 'rock' has enough explosive yield to burn a third of the Earth to cinders." Said Whyte.

The Yeoman shrugged, "So we'll key their car and slash their tires as well. " She said, "The point is, we're the ones who've been wronged here, they killed millions of civilians and caused millions - _billions -_ of dollars in property damage." She explained, "We need to show them that if we're a force to be reckoned with." She put her hand on his shoulder, "If that requires we drop a bomb on them, then so be it. But we need to show them that we're willing to consider other options."

"Such as?" It was clear that Whyte was desperate to find another option.

The Yeoman paused for a few moments, before she shrugged, "I can't think of anything, to be honest. I'd say 'torch the gas-tank', but I don't think that would help, so I'll say _'Find_ the other solution.'..." She and the Director felt the ship slow to a halt, "And find it soon, because you're going to be addressing a species in a few minutes." She said, patting his shoulder a few times before she went to leave the room.

The Director spent a few moments pondering her words, before an idea sprung to mind. He grabbed the data-pad and opened a new document, which he wrote upon as he rode the elevator down to the shuttle-bay.

_Operation: INSURANCE..._ It began.

* * *

The Citadel Council was in a state of near panic. Since the announcement of the Humans' existence, extremists on all sides were attempting to point fingers and convince the Council to do more than just hunker down and pray to their respective gods or goddesses. Batarians were demanding that the Council bomb the Humans back to prehistoric ages so they can get their planet back, but the Council dismissed that option, saying it would just exacerbate things and escalate the war. Salarians were trying to convince the Council to allow spy-drones and STG agents to go into Human space and try covert espionage, but the Council refused to comment. Turians were the most adamant that the entirety of the Council fleets - in addition to Client race's fleets, like Volus, Batarians, and Elcor - join together to overwhelm the Humans, but the Asari and Salarian Councilors refused to see it as an option, and no comment was given as to why.

The Turian Councilor, Sparatus, was actually being threatened with impeachment, because of his rash actions against the Humans. He was currently sitting in his office, looking through every contingency plan in the Turian Hierarchy's extensive records, looking for _something_ he could use to get an advantage on the Humans. He'd read through so many ridiculous things, from the sudden revival of all dead beings on any given planet and what the Hierarchy would do in such situation, to actions taken to prevent a second Krogan Rebellion. But he couldn't find anything that detailed what to do about a sudden and rapid destruction of the Hierarchy's space-forces and the very sudden and very clear threat to the Hierarchy itself. He'd been looking through them for several hours using all of his privileges as Councilor to get everything he could, but he couldn't find anything that would be effective, given their sudden loss of military capability.

Finally, he found something. 'Project Dread', and it's subset, 'The Ghosts'. Intrigued, the Councilor looked into the file for 'Project Dread', and immediately smiled when he realized he'd hit the jackpot.

* * *

"Citizens of Earth..." Began Jason Whyte, as the claps, applauds and cheers died down, following his entrance into the press room in Dubai, one of the few 'mega-cities' that had escaped relatively unscathed from the Second Contact War, as many were beginning to call it, "Of the Human Systems Alliance... Today I come to you, not as a politician, but as your leader... As a fellow Human being. Yesterday we were the victims of a cruel, heinous, and unprovoked attack, not from enemies on our Earth, or from our colony, but from beyond our shores... Beyond our realm of understanding, beyond our galactic field of vision." He said, "Yesterday we were attacked on the home front. Now we can no longer be oblivious to the facts that come with interstellar society... We can no longer assume that all races are peaceful, and that everyone we meet in this celestial neighborhood will wish to be kind to us... Yesterday we were attacked by a militaristic society that calls themselves the 'Turian Hierarchy'... When the Alliance made contact with the Turians, we tried everything we could to sway them from their goals, but they wouldn't have it... To them, it was not 'Surrender and we'll leave you in safety'... It was 'Surrender and die.'... They fired upon our ships and killed our people, with no provocation. They bombed our planet and slaughtered our civilians... Killing millions in the twenty-four hour conflict that sparked from nothing." He spoke with a somber tone, "However, they kicked the proverbial hornets nest when they did so. They see themselves as the dominant military force in the Galaxy, and expected that to remain true here. It did not, as when the Alliance Summer fleet - quickly, and thankfully, assisted by the Quarian navy - engaged the Turians, we halted their advance almost completely. Because of this, they were forced to use underhanded tactics to gain access to our shores and to increase the death toll. The believed they could rule the ground and attempt to hold the planet hostage... I am here to tell you that they could not." He said, earning a light applause from the crowd of reporters.

"Through the fire and the flames of warfare, our species proved to these monsters that we can and _will_ stand firm in the face of adversity. We proved to them that even when faced with cheap, underhanded tactics designed specifically to throw us off our game and to startle us, we can overcome their ferocity, and counter with tactics of our own." He said, "We proved to the galaxy yesterday, that we will _not_ bow to any aggressors, that we _can_ stand against their mightiest armies and that we _will_ defeat any opponent that tries to harm us, our people, our way of life!" He said, his amplified voice echoing out across the vast, faux-grassy fields, stuffed to the brim with groups of reporters and civilians.

"As I speak, we are readying our forces for the biggest counter-attack in Human history." He said, "Our fleets are dry-docking to be upgraded with the most advanced weapons technology ever created by Human hands... The Turians found us when we were content with three planets, with a military that could safely defend and repel attacks against those three... But now they'll fear us as they've pushed our weapons and defense technologies, forward by decades, _centuries_, even... In one day!" He said, "Now we find ourselves with weapons easily capable of overwhelming anything that stands in their way, of destroying anything they need to! Of annihilating everything they can touch!" He said, "When we are ready - and make no mistake about it, we _will_ be ready - we will strike the Turians where they struck us, we will strike their homeworld." He said, the soldiers on medical leave in the distance, and the civilian groups nearer to him, all erupted out in cheers, and the Reporters' camera drones all flashed as they took pictures, commemorating his statement, "As I speak, we are arming, rearming, and creating ship after ship, as fast and as effectively as we can, so we can take the fight directly to them, so we can go where _no_ _man_ has dared go before... An alien planet, with alien people. We will defeat the Turians as we have defeated _everything_ that has ever hurt us in such a way." He declared, earning more cheers, even from the reporters.

After the cheering calmed down, and Whyte requested everyone settle down, he took a deep breath, "But... As with all wars, death followed closely behind. I will not lie, we lost so much in the last twenty four hours, it's hard to imagine how many lives we've lost today... It's harder to imagine how we can possibly fight back, in the face of those innumerable losses... But I am here to tell you... That the Human Systems Alliance, is _always_ ready to stand tall, and stand firm against any threat to it's existence." He'd gotten the casualty reports just a few hours ago, preliminary losses showed at nearly a fourth of Earth and Alliance armed forces dead, with another few hundred thousand injured or dying. He'd spoken with his advisers, the Director for Defense, and others, and they'd all decided that now was the best time to reveal them, if only to show that they had them, and were willing to use them, but also to raise morale, and to show the entirety of the Alliance that they had weapons that were more than capable of inflicting as much harm against the Turians, as the Turians had done to them. "Ladies... And gentlemen... People of Earth... Citizens, of Eden... Humans and Quarians, of the Alliance... I present to you, the next generation in Alliance soldiers... I show to you, our answer, to the call for war the Turians have issued... The Alliance SIGMA Soldiers." He said, and behind him, the curtains fell, to reveal forty Human Super Soldiers, in full gear, and with weapons to boot, all standing in formation. The moment the curtains were pulled back, and they all were revealed, they sprung to a salute, which Whyte reciprocated.

After several minutes of 'ooh'ing, and 'aah'ing, and much applause, Whyte continued, "These soldiers are the absolute very best Humanity has to offer in the field of war. Forged in the fires of war itself, these men and women make up the first... _Ever_... Program of Human Super Soldiers. Utilizing the latest and greatest in augmentation technologies, the most effective of training, and the latest in weapons technology, these men and women are the most powerful Human soldiers to have ever existed. They _define_ the phrase, 'Human Weapon of Mass Destruction'... These men and women - and all those who fought with them - were instrumental in the battle for Earth... And these men and women will _lead_ the Alliance forces during the counter-attack on the Turian home-world." He said with pride.

* * *

_Project: Dread_

_Classification Level: Ultra-top secret._

_Admission requirements: Primarch, Councilor._

_Begin report:_

_In C.E. 1945, scouts discovered a Prothean Data Vault, located on the far outer edge of Council Space, just before the Terminus Borders. The Turian reconnaissance fleet to discover it was the first to inspect it, expecting to find untranslatable data, perhaps a weapon or two, maybe even a deceased Prothean._

_Initial searches found all of the above, save for the corpse. Subsequent searches found a Prothean ship, twice the size of a - then - modern Turian Dreadnought. Scans of the ship showed that it indeed could overpower a Turian Dreadnought with it's defense cannons alone, while the ship has never been used in combat as of yet, it is expected that it's main gun could overwhelm the shields of a Turian Dreadnought and pierce the armor with a single shot [VI Simulations put the firing velocity at roughly 1/4 the speed of light, possibly greater.]. _

_This is, very easily, the most significant discovery in the history of the Hierarchy._

_Three years were spent studying the ship in secret, repairing it with - then - modern technology, before Turian scientists and engineers were able to bring the engines online. After we were able to bring the ship online, many things fell into place, that eventually gave us complete control of the ship itself. The vault was - post ship activation - promptly cleared of all valuable technology and materials, and loaded onto the ship, before the ship and the data left the planet. The vault was promptly incinerated with a type 2 thermal bomb, never to be discovered._

_Since it's discovery the Prothean Dreadnought has catapulted Turian Ships' formidability, and has spear-headed the advancement of the Turian Space Force; and while Turian ships have never been stronger, the Prothean Dreadnought remains the single strongest ship in the Galaxy, seconded by no other. _

_Use of the Prothean Dreadnought is limited to one or both, of the following two situations:  
Galactic war of Krogan-scale,  
The imminent challenge of Palaven's survival or safety (See Also: Turian Ghost Corps)_

_Following the deployment of the Prothean Dreadnought, actions are to be taken to hide it's presence. In the event it is discovered, all knowledge is to be denied, and it is to be declared a pre-existing addition to the Hierarchy, predating even the Unification War. _

* * *

_"Mister McGraw... There is someone at the door..."_ Said the synthetic voice of Christopher McGraw's AI, Gladys.

"I swear to _GOD!"_ Shouted Chris, "Damned apartment survives the invasion of Earth, first mother fucking chance to take a shower - that doesn't work, fucking tease - and take a nap in my own god damned bed, and the Government takes it away!" He ranted, "Fuck it, I'm not paying my taxes anymore, I'm going to go shoot a cop." He said, as he slid out of bed, wearing little else than a pair of sweatpants, "Saved the god damn planet, 'Oh now, McGraw, we fucked up, come help us again!'... Assholes..." Chris muttered, as he shambled his way through the apartment. It was true that it had survived the war, but not unscathed, much of everything he'd hung on the walls were now on the floor, many of his dishes had shattered, and his home's holographic interface was malfunctioning, he'd been forced to shut it off to work on it another day, after a pack of holograms refused to leave his left leg.

"What?!" Demanded Chris, as he opened the door, to be greeted by a now familiar face, "SMITH!" McGraw threw his hands up in the air, and adopted an ecstatic expression, "I'M SO DAMNED HAPPY TO SEE YOU, THANK YOU, FOR WAKING ME UP!" He said, "Now fuck off." He added, before he slammed the door in the man's face, and stalked back through the apartment.

Chris heard the man knock on the door again, but he ignored it as he made his way to his bedroom. Another knock on the door, this one a bit more forceful than the last, Chris responded with silence, as he fell into bed. The next knock on his door followed the tune of 'Shave and a Haircut', before Chris heard the door get kicked down, and several armed men enter his apartment.

"God _damn it!"_ Shouted Chris, as he picked up the first thing he saw, a coffee cup he'd never finished drinking from, he stalked out into his living room, and saw Smith holding a holo-disk, containing one of Chris' favorite movies, 'The Crew'.

"Hey! Don't touch that, it's an an_tique!"_ Chris said, before he chucked the coffee cup at smith, the coffee cup proceeded to slam into a golden-orange barrier and explode into dozens of tiny pieces, leaving Smith unharmed. "Energy shields! Ah _fuck_ yo... Wait... I made those... _Fuck me!"_ Shouted Chris, before several agents descended upon him and restrained him, it took two total to keep his cyber-arm restrained long enough to disconnect it, "Ow! You mother fucker, don't you know how much it stings when you take it off that fast! Fuck you!" Shouted Chris.

"What is with the attitude, mister McGraw?" Asked Smith.

"First off, _fuck_ you, it's 'Doctor', second, you fucking woke me up! Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten a good night's sleep in my own god damn bed? _Days!"_ He shouted, "I'm _fucking cranky_ when I get woken up!"

"So... You proceed to throw a coffee cup at me... Because I woke you up?" Asked Smith, as he signaled to his men to let Chris go, and give him his arm back.

"Actually, that was a spur of the moment thing." Said Chris his attitude changing almost instantaneously, "Tell me, when the hell did they make personal energy shields? I don't remember getting those done..." He said, as he attached his arm to his shoulder-port, it attached with a 'hiss'.

"They haven't, I'm actually wearing a quite heavy body-suit under the tux. Until you give us efficient personal energy-shield tech, this stuff is standard." Said Smith, as he pounded his chest a few times, his knuckles slammed into an obviously metal chest-plate.

"That must suck." Said Chris, "So what the hell do you want? Are the Turians coming back? Are they bringing the ant-men, need me to come up with some sort of planetary pesticide? Why the fuck haven't you called my Dad, he's the head of the AATF." Said Chris.

"Actually... Son... I've already arrived." Said a deep, aged voice, as a new man entered the apartment. This one wore a neat, orderly suit, with a red tie, and a bowler hat.

"Aw fuck, it's you. What happens when anti-fuel fails to vent properly?" Demanded Chris, as he looked at his father.

The man in question removed his hat - revealing his neatly combed graying hair - "The ship explodes with enough force to level two cities, no survivors." Said Jason McGraw, as he looked at his son for a moment, "The effects of a directed energy weapon against an energy shield?" He asked.

"Slight damage to the shield, the beam gets stuck as it tries to work it's way through the barrier." Said Chris, "What happens when the back-up nuclear reactor simply breaks?"

"Nuclear meltdown, no survivors without mutations through radiation." The older man paused a moment, looking his son directly in the eye, his dark green eyes staring into the dark blue, "When a directed-energy weapon forged from anti-matter comes into contact with a Flagship-sized object?"

"You were just waiting for that one." Said Chris, "Going to comment on my apartment next? Old fucker." Chris waved his father off as he stalked over to the small kitchen on the other end of the room, "Want a soda? Or are you too good for that now?" Asked Chris, as he opened his refrigeration unit.

"You failed to answer my question, son." Pointed out the father, ignoring the perplexed looks of the other men in the room.

"You're just fucking with me, we both know what happens." Said Chris, as he came out from the fridge holding a small can.

"I know what happens... And yes, I know you know what happens... But I want to make sure... What happens when a directed energy weapon forged from anti-matter comes into contact with a flagship-sized object?"

"Just trying to point out my mistakes? Think of my shortcomings?" Chris asked, he looked to the Alliance agents in the room, "He was always like this, you know... 'Not good enough, Chris... Make it longer'... 'That's not right boy, you were supposed to carry the one and add the exponent, I am failing you, I hope you enjoyed the tenth grade..." Chris went to open his soda, "Asshole." He said, before the soda promptly exploded in a fountain of carbonated beverage.

"The ground itself was shaking for several hours straight and you went for the carbonated drink? Did you think about that one as much as you did the weapon?" Demanded McGraw senior, before he leaned to the left to dodge a flying soda-can.

"_Fuck you_ old man, you want to know what happens? When an _in_finite source of anti-particles touch a finite real-material, such as the millions of tons of steel and explosives on an Alliance Flagship? The former explodes with enough force and energy to make the Grand Canyon look like a fucking tooth-pick accident." Said McGraw junior, as he grabbed a towel and wiped his face.

"And yet you still went on to weaponize it." Jason shook his head, "Tisk tisk son... What have I told you, all throughout your life? Think before you act." He said, before he dodged the flying towel.

"The Alliance wanted a weapon, I gave them one."

"And thank that deity you choose to worship you were smart enough not to _actually_ test it in atmosphere! That weapon has the capability to destroy the _planet_, you realize." Said Jason, "What were you thinking, son? Are you really so short-sighted that you could not see the _dangers_ of creating a weapon forged of the single most explosive material known to man, on man's home planet?! I can only hope Henry's child is smarter than you!"

_"Fuck you_ old man! Henry's engineering his kid to be smart, you shoved nanites in my brain when I was a baby! Unlike 'Cindy', or 'Miranda', or whatever the fuck Lawson's calling his kid, _I'm not perfect_! I overlook things! The Alliance wanted something to ignore the Quarian and Turian kinetic barriers, I told them an energy weapon would do it! They wanted something that would cut through even _our_ armor like butter, I told them anti-matter would do the trick! They told me to turn the two into one, so I fucking did it!" Shouted Chris.

"Er... Did we do something to instigate this?" Asked Smith, he and the other agents in the room were very obviously confused.

"You fucking brought him here, Smith." Said Chris, "This is how we bond! It's always 'Science Question, Science Question, Science Question, Surprise Math Question. By the way son, you're retarded and because I accidentally made myself sterile, I can't try again!'... It's never 'Hey son, got a girlfriend?'... 'No Dad, I was injected with brain-boosting nano machines that overrode the affection centers in my brain, I am physically incapable of feeling those kinds of feelings for anyone!'..." Chris shouted, mimicking his father's voice when appropriate.

"And despite that, like the affluent child he is, he is still angry with me." Said his father, calmly.

"Oh I'm angry alright, but it's not because I left my arm on when I went to bed... You just piss me off." Said Chris, "Now seriously, what the fuck do you want? I've got a god damn door to replace." He said.

"We're conducting a counter attack against the Turians -"

"Holy shit he's smart enough to watch the fucking news, I was hoping he'd gotten Alzheimers disease by now." Chris interrupted.

"- And we need more ship-grade energy shields and anti-matter weaponry." Said his father, ignoring his son's insult.

"You were just calling me fucking stupid because I made it! Now you want me to make more! Maybe _you_ should take a few of these fucking things!" Chris pointed to his head, "Who knows, maybe it'll finally make you realize how much you fucked up when I got _this_ thing!" Chris indicated his cybernetic arm.

Once again, Jason ignored his son, "You've until the end of the month to create as many energy shield generators and anti-matter beams -"

"Particle beams, you fail, I hope you enjoyed the tenth grade." Chris interrupted.

"-As... You... Can." Said McGraw senior, he was obviously growing fed up with his son, "And show the Alliance engineers how to implement and outfit them on Alliance ships." He said, "We attack 'Palaven' next month. You begin work tomorrow... Because your sleep is so precious to you." Said Jason.

"Wait a god damn second... I can see you convincing me to build this thing while Earth is being attacked, but why the hell do you need me to do this _now_?" Demanded Chris, "I'm not a god damn factory, I'm a scientist. Why not just give the blue prints to a legion of AI's and tell them to build it?" He demanded.

"Because the device is the single most advanced thing in Human space." Said Jason, "Simply put, it's too complicated."

"For a fucking AI?" Asked Chris, "For _you_? The 'Smartest Human Being alive'...?" He demanded, "Seriously, a sentient AI is supposed to process data at speeds that'd make a Human mind dizzy, it's supposed to understand and learn things in micro-seconds... So why the hell do you need me to build them?"

"You are mostly there to show them _how_ to create one... Human engineers, AI Mechs, et-cetera... You and they are all working to forge as many anti-matter particle beams, and energy shields as you can." Explained the father.

"You do realize that even with a legion of engineers and mechs, I won't be able to outfit the entire Alliance Navy with anti-matter tech and shielding, right?" Chris asked.

"We do." Said Jason, "Your primary goal is to outfit Dreadnoughts and Flagships... Everything else is secondary." He explained.

"So... Pretty much... Make as much as I can for the biggest hitters... And fuck the rest?" Summarized Chris.

"In a rude... Profane summarization... Yes." Said Jason, " Now... if there is nothing else... We shall be off." He said, "Once again... We attack 'Palaven' next month. Make sure you arrive on time, tomorrow." He said, before he took one more look at his son, "And put a shirt on."

"THERE IT IS!" Shouted Chris, "I knew it was coming! Hey Dad, guess what this is?" Chris raised his right arm and viciously rubbed his armpit with his left hand, "Armpit hair!" He lowered both his arms, before he flipped his father 'the bird', "You dick."

* * *

_The Turian Ghost Corps_

_Forged in C.E., 1492, the Turian Ghosts are the single most effective Military force in the known Galaxy, [More so than even the Asari Commandos]. The Ghost corps' members are kept in cryo-stasis until they are called upon. [Cryo-pods powered by solar energy receivers and Eezo back-up engines.] The Ghosts are forged via an intense process of bio-mechanical augmentation, and genetic rewriting. The average Ghost is capable of lifting six times _his_ body-weight, is biotic inhibitant, and is capable of going a total of seventeen standard days with no food, and ten with no water, to name a few attributes. _

_The Ghosts have been called in many a time in their several hundred years of existence, most notably during the Batarian-Vorcha war of C.E. 1861, when a platoon of 300 Ghosts defended a Batarian city on Torfan. (Casualty reports came in, 4612 Vorcha dead - of 5500 - 300 Ghosts)_

_Ghosts are trained daily during their cryo-storage, via a form of virtual-reality which links directly into their brain. They spend every hour of every day fighting each other, or fighting simulated enemies of other species. On specific dates of major battles in Turian - or Galactic - history, the Ghosts are inserted into simulations of those battles. The theory behind this is that they will gain countless hours of combat experience against a plethora of enemies, including the very best, themselves. _

_While the Ghosts have suffered casualties in many wars and engagements, never has there been a battle that the Ghost's lost._

* * *

"Director Whyte, you wished to see me?" Asked Quarian Admiral Sri'Zoran, as he entered the briefing room above the _Piked Shield._

"Admiral." Jason nodded, as the Quarian sat down, "First of all, I want to apologize for my words yesterday... I was very angry over Earth, and didn't quite think about what I was saying, or to whom I was saying it." He said.

The Admiral nodded, "It's quite alright, Director." He said, "I can understand your grief and frustration, and I hope you've thought about your... plans for Palaven." He said.

Whyte nodded, "I have." He said, "To begin, I still plan on retaliating, Palaven still being the prime target." He began, "A lack of retaliation on our end could invite more violence in the future, as our lack of action _here_ would cause us to be viewed as weak in the eyes of the rest of the Galaxy." He explained, "However... I want this 'Citadel Council' to know that we are willing to look at... Other options... Before we resort to a counter-invasion." He explained.

"What other options are you considering?" Asked Zoran.

"To be blunt, I want to send you to the Citadel, to broker peace and to put forth our terms." Whyte said, "Your species has a history with the Citadel Council, and though it may have been quite a while since you've been involved in Citadel politics, you do have experience in dealing with these people." He explained, "So I want you - traveling on a Human Dreadnought, which we'll detail later - to go to the Citadel, and, simply put, tell the Council that if they do not end the war with us, and - at minimum - meet our demands for reparations, we will retaliate en-masse."

"But... The Citadel Council views us as beggars, thieves, vagrants, second class citizens, surely -"

"Admiral, you saw how I was after Earth." Whyte said bluntly, "This is a situation I can honestly say I was never prepared for when I accepted this job. I thought I was, but I wasn't. And because of that lack of preparation I let emotion cloud my judgment and I signed the order to use nuclear weapons against Alien Planets. I want someone - anyone! - who has experience with these people, and can keep a level head in the worst of situations, to go to the Council and all but state that if they do not make reparations, end hostilities, and publically apologize, we as a species will attack in force, and will do so with enormous consequences for all sides." He said.

"Why not send Admiral Zorah? Or any of the other Admirals?" Inquired Zoran.

"Because I have to think of this logically... Zorah is far too neutral for his own good, and - this will never leave this room - I feel he will overstep his boundaries if I selected him. Admiral Zorn is far too invested in Human society to think about the good of her and our species, and Admiral Shein is, in essence, a schemer. He'll do whatever it takes to get the absolute best out of the situation, and then some. You are the most neutral - on all grounds - of all the Admirals, and your knowledge of our species can be used as a tool against the Council... That is why I chose you." Said Whyte.

Zoran nodded, Whyte's points made sense, "If the Council refuses to end hostilities, or don't meet your demands... What will you do?"

"Operation: HAMMER." Said Whyte, "The full-scale invasion of Palaven, the crippling of their major production centers, the kinetic bombing of their largest cities, and the kidnapping of their two most powerful leaders." He explained, "If they also refuse to end hostilities... We will drop a planet shaker and see if they change their mind."

Zoran had expected this, or something quite close to it, "And if they refuse again?" He asked.

"All I'll say is that we're prepared to take this far further than a simple retaliation." Whyte responded, "But... That's only if we're pushed to do so."

"Do you truly think you could do that? Take it further than just a retaliation?" Asked Zoran, "Never mind the economic costs on all fronts, but do you truly think you could _conquer_ a galaxy? Turn the Citadel Council into a... A... Imperium of Mankind?" He asked.

"I'm hoping... Praying it doesn't come to that... But I'm more than willing to go so far." Whyte explained.

"You realize you are planning for an asymmetric war on a galactic level... You are planning to do what the Krogan - the _Krogan - _failed to do, so many millennia ago. I will not attempt to dissuade you... I merely hope you understand the possible consequences of your actions, should they go so far." Zoran warned.

Whyte looked at Zoran, "I know the risks." He said, "I know what will happen should the Council refuse to end hostilities. And I know what will happen if we attempt to invade on a galactic scale."

"I believe it was one of _your_ people who said... 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'..." Said Zoran.

"One of my people also said 'Peace, means having a bigger stick than the other guy.'..." Whyte countered.

Zoran sighed, "I must ask one last time... Are you truly ready to start a war with an entire Galaxy, when the Turians alone outnumber your entire species?" He asked.

Whyte sighed as well, "I'm hoping it doesn't go that far." He said, "And in all honesty... Is my species ready? We've had our back broken with this attack, a large percentage of our armed forces was obliterated by this attack, and this was just a fleet, just marines. We've yet to see their army, or their special forces... They may have something that makes the SIGMAs look like children waving around a handgun." He said, "To be quite frank... No... My species isn't ready... Not in a logical sense. In a mental sense? After the attack on Earth, everyone is ready to go to war, everyone wants a thousand Turians to pay for each Human corpse that has to be buried in the next few weeks. To stand a chance in fighting a galactic power we'd have to arm each and every living Human being in the Galaxy, and hope we can get them enough training to stand against them."

"So why plan for Galactic War?" Asked Zoran.

"The wise man makes plans for everything." Said Whyte, "Even if he doesn't intend to act upon those plans."

Zoran knew what Whyte was insinuating, "When do I leave?" He asked.

"Next week." Whyte responded.

* * *

Councilor Sparatus smiled - or, did the Turian equivalent of a smile - after he finished reading the specifics of the two projects. Ghosts and a Prothean Dreadnought, he shivered at the possibilities of what the two could do together, he was sure - looking over the former's service record, and the latter's technical specifications - that they could topple an entire planetary body in just a few weeks. The Prothean Dreadnought _alone_ should be enough to turn the tide against the Human ships, and the Ghosts would be enough to halt the Human soldiers, and slaughter them all the way back to their 'Earth'. Thousands of _Turian_ super-soldiers, with centuries of training, and using - what he soon discovered to be - _Prothean_ stasis technology, to preserve them through time. All Sparatus had to do was say the word, and the Humans would be obliterated, or at the very least, whatever counter-attack they planned would be halted in its tracks.

Sparatus opened up his Omni-tool, and set up a secure connection to the Primarch of Palaven.

_"This is Primarch Fedorian."_ Said the Primarch, after a few moments passed.

"Fedorian, this is Sparatus... Do you still believe that Palaven will be the target for the... 'Humans'... Retaliation?" Sparatus asked.

_"Yes."_ Said Fedorian.

"I assumed as such..." Said Sparatus, "I am sending you data on a few top-secret Hierarchy military projects... The moment we catch wind of a Human counter-attack, I want both to be deployed. Do you understand?" Asked Sparatus, as he sent the Ghost and Dread files to Fedorian.

_"I understand."_ Said Fedorian, _"Is there anything else? I'm consolidating forces and trying to bring our men up to speed, with what little intelligence we have."_ He said.

"There is nothing else... I shall speak to you later, Fedorian." Said Sparatus, before he cut the link.

Sparatus was blissfuly unaware, as he stood up to leave his office, of the STG Agent cloaked and hidden above him, in the ceiling, who'd set up a data-net, and had managed to catch all the files Sparatus sent. Immediately, the Agent made to leave the room - once he made sure he was safe in doing so - and began to translate and decrypt the files.

* * *

Salarian Councilor Eistan was looking through the STG Archives. He was looking for anything that mentioned the Humans, and possibly the location of their 'Earth'. If the STG didn't save _everything_ they found, their computers wouldn't have to purge non-necessary data every forty years, and therefor Eistan would have found the Earth's location by now. But sadly, they did, and thus, all he found was the report given to him by Agent Solus, and one other, a very rough profile of how Humans conducted war two centuries ago. He'd forwarded the report to Sparatus and to Tevos, but he made sure to mention that combat strategies _did_ update with time, so how they fought _then_ wasn't necessarily how they fought _now_.

Ever since the announcement Tevos had made, many civilians had simply demanded how it was possible, for the Turians to be defeated in such a capacity. No one knew, to be honest. It was much the same as when the Krogan rebelled and nearly destroyed the Citadel Council, the Humans may simply be too mighty.

_Second-generation genophage? No, far too dangerous, might increase violence... Humans too smart, Artificial Inteligences, warp-based technologies... Would cure themselves before the generation ended._ He thought, as his mind wandered to possible galactic-war scenarios.

* * *

Asari Councilor Tevos was looking at a Galaxy map. The previous day she'd ordered the Republic to send out deep-space probes, in a last-ditch effort at finding the Humans. She knew that it wouldn't bear any fruit, the odds of finding the Human Homeworld, or a Human colony, were very slim, but she had to do _something_. In the meantime, she went over possible attack scenarios, the Citadel's most advanced VI's were telling her that an attack on the Citadel was the most logical, and therefor, most likely to occur. It made sense to her, the Humans would attack the center of Council Government in order to effectively pin down the Council itself, and demand that peace be made, under threat of continued war. Because of this likely scenario, she - and the other Councilors, including Sparatus - had brought the bulk of their fleets in to shore up the Citadel's defenses. The Homeworlds were all being shored up and defended as well, but the Citadel was the prime target, and therefor, under the largest threat.

She'd looked at the Turian intelligence and the ancient Salarian report - she'd made note to mention this to Eistan - and seeing how the Humans fought so long ago did not bode well for her fears of fighting them _now_. The Humans were so unorthodox, that they were the polar opposite of the rank-and-file Turians. Back during the time when they were observed, the Humans would arm their dead and use them as traps, they would hide in trees to launch surprise attacks, they'd burn down entire forests just to kill one or two squads of soldiers. It frightened her to wonder, if they were willing to do _this_ kind of atrocity to their homeworld, what would they do to an alien world?

According to Eistan, and then Sparatus the Humans had even deployed _nuclear_ grade weapons on their homeworld, as well as nuclear-speed kinetic strikes. This meant that they were willing to _permanently_ damage their _home_, for sake of warfare against themselves! If they were willing to do so much to themselves on their own planet, what in the name of the Goddess would they be willing to do to the Turians, after they'd struck their planet? If the Humans were anything like the Ferocious Krogan, or the territorial Rachni, Tevos would be willing to bet that the Humans would be seeking vengeance for paradoxical reasons, using paradoxical methods. She was sure they felt as proud of their homeworld - despite what they've done to it - as the Salarians were about Sur'kesh, or the Batarians about Khar'san, and if the Turians had truly done as much damage as had been estimated, she was willing to guess the Humans would do so to the Turians.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N:_

_Hey folks!  
Thanks a million for putting up with my absence, I was sick as hell and at one point was suffering from a moderate case of Writer's Block.  
But now I'm back, and because you guys were so compliant with my lack of updates._

_Without further ado... We're off!_

* * *

Chapter 11:

November 7th, 2201

* * *

"Citadel Control, this is Turian Dreadnought, _Catharnan_, we're getting some odd readings from the Relay... Requesting an update, are we performing satellite maintenance today?" Asked the Captain of the Dreadnought.

_"_Catharnan_, we see the readings... No maintenance today. Leading theory is solar radiation from the other end, one of the Relays connected with the Citadel gate is supposed to be passing through a thicker radiation zone than usual, but other than that, we've got nothing. We're sending a few drones and satellites through, to see what's going on."_ Said the Asari C-Sec captain.

"Understood, Citadel Control, _Catharnan_ -"

"Catharnan,_ we're detecting some sort of anomaly a few kilometers from your position, you're the closest ship to the anomaly, please mkae haste and ascertain the nature of this anomaly."_ A new voice, this one Turian, suddenly broadcast.

"Understood, Citadel Control, _Catharnan_ out." Said the Captain, before he gave out the orders.

Several minutes passed as the massive ship floated through the void, illuminated by the vast nebula that surrounded the Citadel. The ship's scanners and systems were all functioning perfectly, and were actively scanning the environment, looking for the anomaly the Citadel had detected.

"Captain, we've got nothing... It might have just been a technical glitch." Suggested a crewman, after a few minutes passed.

"It can't have been... The machines on the Citadel are some of the most advanced in the known Galaxy, 'Glitches' don't happen." Said the Captain, "Scan again, on all vectors." He ordered.

"Scanning..." The Scanner said, after a sigh.

A scanner then reported in, "I'm picking up a ship!" He declared, "It just appeared out of no where, right near the event-horizon of the anomaly we were tracking... Radar silhouette paints it as... Quarian. It's big, though... _Real_ big, sir."

Several seconds passed by in silence, before a communicator suddenly spoke, "Captain, we're being hailed." He said.

"Accept the Hail, warn the fleet that the Quarians are here, so the 'Humans' can't be far behind." Said the Captain, before he sighed, "This is it." He said, before a Quarian appeared on the vid-screen. "This is the captain of Turian Dreadnought, _Catharnan_, to vessel unknown, you are illegally trespassing upon Citadel Territory, deactivate your engines and declare yourself." He said, loud, clearly, and forcefully.

Several moments of silence, then finally, _"This is Admiral Sri'Zoran vas Morrule, aboard the Human Systems Alliance vessel, the SSV Beautiful Annihilation, and temporary liaison to the Human Systems Alliance."_ Said a voice, in a language the scanners and communications analysts quickly identified as Kehlish, _"I am requesting immediate boarding passage to the Citadel, and an audience with the Citadel Council regarding the war effort."_

_It is a Quarian..._ Thought the Captain, _Wait... What was the Ship's name? The Beautiful Annihilation? Who on Palaven would name a ship _that_?_ He wondered,_For poetic purposes? Why name a warship poetically?_ "Admiral, you realize that to request an audience with the Council during a time of war, with you and yours allied with the enemy." He stated, "I am within my rights to fire upon your vessel." _And who will they believe, a lowly suit-rat, or a Turian Captain? The odds are not in your favor..._

_"Captain, in the interests of the Citadel Council, _and_ the Turian Hierarchy, I need to speak with the Citadel Council." _Said the Quarian admiral, _"I speak on the behalf of the Human Race, the one 'you and yours' attacked."_ He stated.

The Turian Captain was outraged, the thought that a _Quarian_ could affect the interests of the Citadel Council, _and_ the Turian Hierarchy? And who in their right mind would send a _Quarian_ as an envoy for their entire race? Would not a fine, upstanding citizen or politician be a better representative than a spirits-damned suit rat?

"Quarian ship... Annihilation?" Repeated the Captain, he received a nod from one of the scanners, "I'll give you a single chance to heave-to. If you want to speak to the Council, you will do so in chains, and with your ship impounded."

* * *

Admiral Sri'Zoran looked to the Human Captain, seeking an opinion. In his view, on one hand, going to the Council 'In Chains' would prove that he is willing to compromise to begin peace talks, but on the other hand, doing this may cause the species he is trying to represent to appear weak, and given their barbarian-esque personality, and stark opposition of weak appearances, doing so wouldn't be good, for him or for the Humans. This Turian was also trying to bait Zoran into attack, he knew for a fact that - even during Wartime - the Turians wouldn't say such things in such blunt terms. They would make the same demands, yes, but because Zoran had convinced Jason'Whyte to hook the ship up with a Quarian IFF, so it could be recognized by the Citadel Council and - hopefully - seen as a peace ship, he had unintentionally subjected it to Quarian discrimination.

"What do you suggest, Captain?" The Admiral asked.

The man shook his head, "No deal." He said, "_We_ were the ones who were wronged, if they want you in chains they'll have to come here and put them on you." He stated, "Battery, what's the status of shields?"

_"Shields at one hundred percent, ready to concentrate where needed. Rail Guns charged, and missiles loaded and ready for priming."_ Reported the _Annihilation_'s Gunnery Chief, _"Nuclear munitions are also primed and ready to fire, AI's are using the alien communications satellites to find the 'Citadel', first shot will miss, but detonate close enough to cause quite the fireworks display."_ He added.

"Good." Said the Captain, before he nodded to the Quarian.

Zoran hadn't agreed with the choice to arm the _Annihilation_ with Nuclear Weapons at all. He'd said that it would be seen as a silent declaration of war, but Whyte had said that he wanted this ship to have every advantage possible, the 'Dread-Class' Anti-matter powered rail gun was proof of this.

"Turian Dreadnought, _Catharnan_, this is Admiral Sri'Zoran. I respectfully decline your request." He paused, "I will agree to taking a shuttle to the Citadel and taking a small honor-guard, but I will do so as a politician, and a representative... _Not_ a prisoner." He stated.

It took a moment for a response, _"Those terms are unacceptable, Quarian."_ The Captain said, Zoran sighed exasperatedly, _"You and yours convinced those 'Humans' that we were the enemy, and they proceeded to destroy the Hierarchy's two largest fleets. If you want to speak to our _leaders,_ you'll have to do so in our custody."_ He paused, _"This is your only chance."_

"Captain, enemy contact is readying weapons!" Reported a scanner.

Things were falling out of control, very quickly. Zoran didn't like this, but an idea came to him. "AI, have you access to the Citadel communications-buoy network?" He asked.

_"Yes sir, Admiral!"_ Said the _Annihilation_'s AI, its voice holding the tone of a marine drill-sergeant.

"Can you connect me _directly_ to a member of the Citadel Council?" Zoran asked, "Preferably a non-Turian?"

_"One moment."_ Said the AI, _"Here you go."_ He said a few seconds later.

The vid-screen changed from the skull-faced Turian captain, to the Salarian Councilor, Eistan.

_"Hm? How... what broke through Omni-tool's encryption?"_ The Salarian thought aloud, as the image whirled around to center on the Councilor's face, "_Quarian? Suit fastenings and decorations suggest rank... Admiral... Standing next to... Asari? No, skin tone too light, facial structure similar but different... More... Masculine? A male Asari? No, impossible, organs would suggest the existence of a male but evolutionary history says otherwise... Perhaps... Possible... Alien? Is this a Human? Fascinating, so similar to an Asari yet so different... Would explain Omni-tool hack. What can I do for you, Admiral and Human?"_ Asked the Salarian, in his characteristically fast tone.

The Human looked from the Salarian to Zoran, "Tell me you understood that?" He asked.

Zoran nodded, "Good afternoon, Councilor." He said, "I am indeed aboard a Human vessel, but there is a Turian Dreadnought bearing it's weapons upon us, and is refusing me entry to the Citadel so I may speak with you and your subordinates. I implore you call it off, soon, as we have yet to respond, and our continued silence may be deemed hostile." He told the Councilor.

_"Turians... Seeking so much violence with so little gain... One moment, Admiral."_ Said the Councilor, before his fingers danced across the vid-screen.

"Captain, the enemy ship is lowering weapons and is breaking off!" Declared a scanner, to a small applause and light cheers.

_"Quarian Admiral, Human... Captain? Admiral, Captain, I have called off the Turian Dreadnought, I have given you clearance to land upon the Presidium, on the Citadel Tower. Will enjoy meeting a Human."_ Said the Salarian Councilor, a moment later.

Zoran shook his head, "I am sure you would, but that will not happen today, Councilor. The Humans have sent _me_ as their envoy for peace. My guards will consist of... Quarian marines." He said, unbeknownst to the Salarian, that was a bold-faced lie. The Humans were using holographic technology to disguise a squad of N7 Operatives as Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines, to give the Council operatives a false sense of security.

The Salarian paused for a moment, _"Quarian? Sent as envoy for Humans? Why would they send a... A... Quarian, as their envoy? Suggests many things... Great trust, perhaps Quarians uplifted Humans, gave them FTL technology? Perhaps governments merged? Fascinating."_ Zoran didn't need to know why the Salarian had stuttered, he knew he'd just barely suppressed a racial slur, _"Understood. Cannot wait to speak, regardless."_ He said, before he cut the vid-link.

* * *

"So... Color me surprised, I thought they'd send in those 'SIGMA' guys for this mission." Said Eloise, a Human N7, as she activated her holographic shifter, and watched as small, ever-changing images cascaded down her armor like a spilled cup of water, slowly turning her into a pitch-perfect image of a Quarian Marine.

"They gave those guys their own mission." Said Jack, the Squad's leader, "Something about 'Insurance'." He explained.

"So, what, they going to sneak into enemy territory and give us sniper support?" Asked Joseph, as he too was turned into a Quarian.

"Nope." Said Jack, "They're doing something else entirely. Something about insurance, should peace talks break down and a war break out." He explained.

"And how do _you_ know this?" Eloise asked, as she examined her suddenly alien appearance, her HUD outlined her true-form with a small green line, so she could see her vital areas, like her tactical vest and her side-arm.

"Was told at the debriefing, _we're_ going in and taking over the mission if the SIGMAs fail." He explained.

"Super Soldiers? Fail? I thought those two words didn't go in the same sentence?" Asked Joseph.

"They do when the words 'Contingency Plan' are placed between them." Jack explained, silencing his squad, as the elevator opened, and revealed the Quarian Admiral.

"Come, soldiers, we're taking off in a few minutes." He said, as he moved to the side to let the Humans inside. The elevator filled up quickly, as the dreadnought shifted forward, making quickly for the Citadel.

Several moments were spent in silence, as the elevator made it's way to the hangar-bay, slowed significantly by the warp-drive.

"So... Admiral... Alien... Sir... You spent your entire life on ships?" Joseph asked, trying to break the silence.

The Quarian nodded, "I did. At least until my Pilgrimage, I quite nearly stayed away from the fleet then." He said.

"What was it like? Being confined to a few kilometer-long world?" Joseph asked.

"Claustrophobic." Said the Quarian, "And small. The proudest moment of my life was when I saw my parents and sister spread their limbs on your planet, Eden." He added.

"You have a sister? I thought Quarians could only have one kid?" Inquired Eloise.

"The Dhanar - my birth-ship - was going through a phase in which it's population was deemed too small, so my Parents were among those 'lucky' enough to be allowed to have a second child." Explained the Admiral, "She was the one who introduced me to my wife, actually. I'd consider her one of my closest friends in the Galaxy." He said, smiling behind his mask.

"Really? Wow, that's pretty cool." Said Joseph, "I don't think I'd say the same thing about my brother... Asshole cheated on his wife with _her_ sister." He said.

"Infidelity isn't something that is common amongst my people, last public account was two hundred twelve years ago." Zoran said, "I would suggest speaking to him, though. He is your family, and sometimes you don't get to have them for as long as you like." The sounds of hull breeches and rapid depressurization still haunted Zoran's dreams.

"You speak from experience?" Asked Joseph, before he was smacked by Eloise, "What?!" He demanded.

"I lost my wife a few months after we bonded under the engines." Said Zoran, as the elevator ground to a halt, "I miss her more every day."

_"That's_ why. Dumbass." Said Eloise, after she watched Zoran move away, making haste for the tilt-wing shuttle that would be taking them to the alien space-station.

* * *

"I am sorry, Eistan... _What_?" Asked Asari Councilor Tevos, as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and tried to understand what her subordinate had just told her.

_"Councilor, you must consider going to bed earlier each night, staying up so late will only cause you to sleep later."_ Said the Salarian, _"Regardless. The Humans are here, but they are not attacking. They have sent a _Quarian_ to represent them as an entity and begin talks for peace."_ He said, _"__The Human Dreadnought, the 'Beautiful Annihilation', is making it's way to the Citadel, under Asari/Salarian escort, and will be sending a shuttle to land upon the Citadel Tower. They are expected to arrive within the hour."_ He said.

Tevos was on her feet and away from her desk in a moment, "How long ago was this? Have you informed Sparatus?" She asked.

_"A few standard minutes. I have already spoken to Sparatus, he is on his way to the Council Chambers, as are a squad of fifteen Spectres, his orders." _Eistan responded.

"What is the Quarian bringing as it's guard?" She asked.

_"A small squad of Migrant Fleet Marines."_ Said Eistan.

_"I advise you look at the terminology contained therein, 'Migrant Fleet' suggests that the Humans and Quarians have yet to integrate to the point of the Migrant Fleet's dissolution."_ The Turian Councilor suddenly joined in on the call,_ "If we can play our cards right, we may be able to convince the Quarian to separate his species from the Humans. This would severely weaken both species, leave them far more open for attack."_ He pointed out.

"Sparatus, I will not ask how you heard the entirety of this conversation, in lieu of pointing out that looking at this with a military point of view _will_ prod us to further war!" Tevos stated, "If the Humans wish to send a Quarian as their liaison, fine. If they wish to merge their governments with the Quarians, we can declare the Quarians a client race of the Humans. Do... _Not_ compromise the peace talks with your war-mongering thoughts!" She warned.

Sparatus was silent, before he cut the link.

_"I fear for the prospect of peace."_ Said Eistan, before he too cut the link.

* * *

Christopher McGraw was sitting outside, miles away from the engineering bay he'd been working in for the past few days. He was sitting at a park bench, and running through his mind were countless equations and specifications, all with sporadic goals. Some were to attempt to lessen the anti-fuel draw on Flagship engines, others were to increase energy-shield 'Thickness', and others were simple, random thoughts and equations, like the mathematical formula for a Rail Gun slug as it left a 'Wet' vessel, and slammed into an alien ship.

The Park around McGraw had little activity, since the invasion many were either working on repairs, or were staying home enjoying each other's company. Some families tried to move right back into normal lives, trying to ignore the bullet-casings on the ground and the craters in their path to work. A few had come to pollute the same park he'd come to, playing with their kids and making needless noise.

As McGraw's thoughts were revolving around a particularly interesting concept of 'Hardening' shields, to make a user temporarily impervious to damage, a familiar voice tore him from them.

"Chris!" Said the voice, Chris shook his head, clearing his vision from the equations he could _almost_ see floating in the sky, he looked to his left and saw the Quarian he'd spent quite a bit of time with during the war for Earth, though people were calling it the 'Second Contact War', now.

"Talo!" Said Chris, "Er... What are you doing here?" He inquired.

She shrugged, "I... What is the Human phrase? Wanted the fresh air? The other Admirals are going over war plans with your people, and I'm not much help with those... I'm more helpful with engineering, and technology, and... What?" She asked, after she sat down next to Chris on his bench, and noticed he hadn't stopped staring at her, with an odd expression.

"You wanted... _Fresh Air?"_ Repeated Chris, slowly, to which Talo nodded. "_Fresh..."_ Chris tapped on her visor with the knuckles of his right hand, _"Air?"_ He grinned after she realized what she'd said.

"Er... I mean... I..."

"And while I don't discount that the Admirals are talking to the Alliance... I really doubt that they'd let you slink off to get some filtered 'fresh' air." He said, before he elbowed her teasingly, "I'm a frackin' genius, lady. I know you're looking for excuses to see me." He said, bluntly.

Talo froze, she hadn't expected him to figure out her motives, _or_ be so blunt about them, "What?" She asked.

"I'm not stupid, Talo. You hardly took your eyes off of me when we were working on the gun. And the second I made that comment about 'extended propulsion systems' I could almost _see_ your visor fog up." He said, "Admit it, you think I'm _sexy!"_ He drew out the last word, mostly to see her reaction, which consisted of quickly looking away from him, and wringing her fingers.

"I... Er..." She stuttered, much to McGraw's amusement.

"All you got to do is _say so."_ He said, with a wide grin, it was clear that he was enjoying this.

"I... Am... Attracted to you..." Talo eventually said, she had _not_ been planning on broaching this subject with him. She'd planned on 'talking tech' with him, maybe even suggest going somewhere to eat, and discuss warp-drives. To say she felt blind-sided would be an understatement, she had no idea where this came from, or why he'd brought it up.

Chris was silent for a moment, "Well I'm not." He said, slowly, and with a nod.

Talo was stunned, but only a bit, "Is... It... Because I'm -"

"I'm not attracted to my _own_ species, lady." Chris said, "Not to you either, but that's no fault of your own." He began, "You see, when I was thirteen months old, my dad thought it'd be prudent to conduct a science experiment on his son. He wanted to find ways to increase Human intelligence, as a result, all these years later, I've got self-replicating nano-machines running through my brain. Literally, I've got microscopic machines swimming through the canals of my brain, which are performing their job perfectly: I've got a five hundred IQ, that's growing weekly." He explained, "Problem is, the things had an unforeseen side-effect." Chris leaned his head down, and parted his hair on the lower left corner of his head, "Right there, give or take a few inches, is the affection centers of my brain. The nano-machines saw fit to... Simply put... Override it, to make me smarter. I am _literally_ incapable of feeling feelings of affection for anyone... Which sucks, because I was voted 'Most Handsome' in high-school." He chuckled, a little loudly, "So... Literally, it's not you, it's me." He said, a smile still on his face.

Talo nodded, slowly, "I... See..." She said.

"Yeah, I know that had nothing to do with anything, but some of those scientists from Rushmore were constantly pestering me about it. I didn't want to string you along anymore, didn't feel right." Said Chris, "Friends?" He asked.

"Friends." Nodded Talo.

Chris nodded, before he clapped, "Alright! Now that that's out of the way, I want to talk to you about something, have you heard my concept of hardened shields?"

* * *

Sri'Zoran was anxious. With every passing moment he found that the decision to send a _Quarian_ in the place of a Human was sounding more and more idiotic. For starters, it had been centuries since his people had interacted with the Citadel Council, since just after they'd been cast away from their home and thrust into the Flotilla. They'd been _exiled_ by the Galactic community, and as a result barely anyone would every take them seriously, and with the 'list of demands' Jason'Whyte had given him, he thought even less of his chances of being taken seriously.

The soldiers around him shifted anxiously, as they felt the shuttle dip down and make contact with the alien ground. A trained Quarian eye could see the faults in their holographic enviro-suits, but it was mostly a societal thing, that Zoran only noticed because he'd lived with his own for decades. The fault with the Human holographic depiction was that the Males' masks lacked the tertiary oxygen flow tube, but even Zoran would admit that it took him a few moments to notice it, as those tubes were usually hidden and protected, as they were the Quarian's last line of completely filtered air.

When the shuttle switched to atmospheric-rotor mode, and then touched down safely upon the Presidium Tower's landing zone, the bay-door opened slowly. The N7 in the shuttle with him quickly sprung to their feet and made for the door, and stormed outside once it fully opened. They were greeted by a large group of fifteen Council Spectres, their five against the Council's fifteen - mostly comprising of Turians - immediately put the Humans at a numerical disadvantage.

Thankfully, the N7 weren't as forceful as the soldiers were during first contact, and didn't order the aliens in front of them to lower their weapons, they kept to the Quarian image, and lowered their weapons after making sure the coast was clear, and they bade Zoran outside.

_"...Is a fascinating design, of Human, most likely. Thruster-propelled when in vacuum, and when in atmosphere, changes to a rotor-based propulsion system! Fascinating!"_ Zoran heard Eistan, the Salarian Councilor, whisper to himself as the Quarian descended the ramp.

"Admiral." Greeted Tevos, the Asari Councilor.

_"Quarian."_ Said Sparatus, the Turian Councilor, with an obviously hostile tone.

"Councilors." Zoran greeted, pleasantly, with a nod.

"If you would follow us, we will show you to our chambers, so we can begin talking peace." Said Tevos, as she guided the group inside.

* * *

_"Operation: INSURANCE is a go."_ Said John-S1's deep voice, into the SIGMA Squad's communicators, as they leaped from the belly of the _Annihilation,_ to the arm of the 'Citadel', a few dozen meters away. Trailing behind the operatives, fastened via magnetic-tether, were several dozen crates, of varying sizes, containing hundreds of TITAN Mechs. John himself, was using the anti-gravity to personally escort the main 'present' for the Alien Capitol: A Planet-Shaker class Nuclear weapon. The enormous bomb's radiation was being kept from sensors via a complex lead case, that was as large as a small car. In the zero-G environment, John had no trouble carrying it, but once he'd fasten himself to the Citadel and make his way inside, a magnetic-field would be created, which would propel the case in the air, and allow it to float, so he could guide it inside the Citadel's 'Foundations', the name of the area he understood to be the slums. _"Watch your trackers and remember: This is a deniable op. We get caught, we face the consequences."_ He said, as they touched down on the Citadel, and their magnetic boots clamped down onto it's surface.

_"Target, three hundred sixty two meters north."_

_"Reference?"_

_"Station supports, the ring."_

_"Understood. Squad, be advised: 'North' is the direction of the Station's ring."_ Said John, he received acknowledgments from his team, as they all made sure none of the mech's crates drifted off, and were all accounted for.

As the men made their way down the enormous artificial structure, John found himself wondering to what end, and for what purpose, someone would build something so large. The resources to make this thing had to be incredibly costly, and if he had to guess, would outweigh the benefits in a short and medium run. So why build something that would only truly benefit you in the long run? And on that note, what was it made of? The material that formed the 'Citadel's' outer shell had to be thick, and durable, otherwise any old terrorist could - and would - have bombed it to smithereens. The only material that John knew of that could be durable enough to take the possible punishment was Tuning metals, but he knew that they weren't in use by modern aliens, or 'Citadel' Aliens, as his people called them. So if not them, then who? The enigmatic 'Protheans', who apparently studied his kind tens of thousands of years ago, vanished, left their stuff, and had everyone now-a-days base their technology off of? If they'd made the Citadel and the Tuning Gates, and forged the metals that forged them, then why can't Citadel Aliens use them? For John, and his limited knowledge, something didn't add up. But he couldn't think any more on it, his squad was reaching the point their AI's had designated as an insertion point.

* * *

"So... Let me understand this... The Humans want _full_ reparations for the damages to their 'Earth', us to pay for the damages in raw materials, specifically precious metals... _And_ they want a public apology?" Sparatus summarized, skipping over many of the other conditions that had been listed by Whyte, and spoken by Zoran, "And this is just to secure _peace?!"_ He demanded.

Inside, Zoran felt much more nervous than he'd felt when meeting Locke for the first time. Like the Humans, he _knew_ the Turians could do some damage, but unlike the Humans, thankfully, Zoran knew the extent of the Hierarchy's power. The Admiral nodded, "The Humans feel as if _they_ were the ones wronged here, Councilor. Their leader told me, on no uncertain terms, that his people _want_ vengeance, but he wants to at least attempt diplomacy before bloodshed." He said.

"You're saying the Humans _want_ War?" Sparatus looked to his fellow Councilors, "These people are more violent than the _Krogan!_ They have been poisoned by the _Quarians_ -" He said that word with an obvious tone of disgust, "- Who are using them like a thief would use a gun!" He stated.

"Sparatus... Brainwashed or not, the fact remains that _you_ signed the order to attack the Humans, and _we_ must face the consequences." Eistan pointed out.

"However... To expect the Council to make _complete_ Reparations?" Asked Tevos, "The Damage the Hiararchy has done, to undo it with raw resources and credits, it would put a significant strain upon the Citadel economy. We can agree to one fourth the raw resources listed, and two trillion credits, but nothing more." She said.

Zoran shook his head, "I'm sorry, Councilors, I cannot accept that. Anything less than three fourths the resources requested, the apology, and five point five trillion credits is not enough." He stated.

"The _Quarian_ is out of line!" Said Sparatus, "_Five trillion_ credits?! We were being _generous_ with two, and now you are trying to take _five_?! In _addition_ to the resources we can ill-afford to lose, especially after our ship losses?!" He demanded, "_You_ need to learn your place, Quarian."

And there it was, the one fact that led to Zoran's downfall each time he made a point: He was a Quarian. Even the Salarian was discriminating against him, albeit not in the same capacity as the other two. Sparatus was speaking with an obvious tone of hatred and loathing, mostly because the Quarians had been indirectly responsible for the deaths of the dozens of thousands of Turian marines - though, if he wanted to point talons, the Batarians were also responsible, in the same way the Quarians were. Tevos was taking Zoran for a complete imbecile, and was trying to manipulate him because of it, and Eistan just wasn't taking anything the Quarian was putting forth seriously, instead trying at nearly every junction to learn about the Humans, or divert Zoran's requests and try and make him forget about them.

"Councilors..." Zoran said, ever so slowly, "You do not know what you are setting yourselves up for." He said, "I've lived among the Humans, I've read their history, studied their wars, and watched their documentaries. These people have nuclear weapons that would make the Krogan shift in their plate, and they're _willing_ to use them. They _have_ used them on themselves, in their past! They have energy-based weapons that could, in theory, destroy entire planets. The Humans fight with a ferocity, a tenacity, and an unorthodoxy that has _never_ been seen in this Galaxy... Not since the Krogan. They are the practical embodiment of the fiercest qualities of all races... They have Quarian ingenuity, Krogan ferocity, Turian dedication to war, Asari wisdom, Batarian brutality, and Salarian knowledge, to name a few. If you don't accept their offer _here_, they will force you to do so on top of a mountain of nuclear ash." He stated.

For a moment, following his miniature speech, the Council was stunned. No one had _ever_ been so blunt with them, ever, in the Council's history.

"The _Quarian_ speaks out of line! He threatens us with the Humans! He is trying to tell us that we will be destroyed if we do not accept the Humans' grandiose demands!" Shouted Sparatus, quickly turning the situation into a shouting match as the Councilors try to silence one another.

It wasn't the Council that silenced each other, but rather, something far more horrifying, in Zoran's opinion.

_"He is right, you know."_ Said the synthetic voice of a Human AI.

_Oh keelah... No..._ Thought Zoran, as he watched a holographic depiction of a Human Male appear above each of the podiums of the Council, blissfully ignorant of the horrified looks - and probably even thoughts - it was receiving from the Council.

"Is... What... Quarian..." Sparatus stuttered, as he took a step back.

_"Allow me to introduce myself."_ The AI said in Kehlish, so it would be translated, _"I am the Human Artificial Intelligence Construct B3... You can call me Nikola."_ It said, _"I came here as a more... Personal... Envoy to the Human Race."_ It 'turned' to 'face' Zoran, _"So sorry, Admiral, but Director Whyte needed a contingency."_

"It is... No problem..." Zoran said automatically.

The construct nodded it's holographic head, as it turned to 'look' at the slowly retreating trio of Councilors. _"Council, I am here to tell you that, quite simply, there will be war if you do not accept our terms."_ It said, _"We will take, at the bare minimum, three fourths the raw materials requested to rebuild Earth. A public apology_, _and the money to repair our home. Anything less, cannot be accepted."_ It said, politely.

Sadly, it's politeness, and it's words, were lost to the Council, as they focused on a single fact: It's artificial composition.

_"GETH!" _Shouted Sparatus.

* * *

Asari Spectre Malon-sal Finat was the first to react when the Councilors ordered the fifteen Spectres to attack the six Quarians. In a biotic flash, she was right next to the Quarian Admiral, and when her hand went for his throat, she was slammed into by the side, and sent to the ground several meters below the podium the Quarian had been standing upon. She hadn't been expecting the blow, and hadn't prepared for it, so the moment she slammed into the ground, the wind was knocked from all three of her lungs, before she felt fist after fist connect with her face. She flared her biotics and tried to throw the Quarian Marine off of her, but the Marine was protected by some sort of oddly colored shield, instead of being the normal cyan-blue, this was golden-orange, and it seemed to shrug off all biotic energy.

Desperate for protection, the Council Spectre raised her hands and feebly used them to shield her face. It took a few moments for her to garner enough concentration to create a Biotic Flare, this one finally got a reaction from the Quarian, and it flew off of the Spectre. Malon-sal slowly got to her feet, and forced air into her lungs. She looked to the Quarian, desperate for an explanation as to how it resisted her biotics, and was rewarded handsomely when she saw the hologram enveloping the Quarian shiver violently, before it finally gave out.

_"Cover's blown, engage all targets! Get the Admiral to the ship, evacuation order April!"_ She heard someone shout, before gunfire quickly ensued. She momentarily looked up to the podium, where she already saw a Turian corpse, but her gaze was stolen when her barriers flared violently, as they caught and froze several large brass-slugs, which would have soared through her brain had she not summoned up a barrier.

Malon-sal dropped the barrier for an instant to send the bullets to the ground, before she launched another flare at the alien.

_This must be a Human._ She thought, as she saw it slam into the wall, it's golden-orange barriers having shattered under her biotic barrage. She saw that it was easily several inches shorter than her, shorter still than a Turian, but somehow it was still stronger than she, and maybe even a few Turian Marines she'd had the 'pleasure' of fighting, and she'd been a Commando for a century, so she had a considerable amount of strength.

_"Guys, what the fuck? This thing is cheating, it's using magic!"_ Shouted the Human, as it pried itself from the wall. Malon-sal gave the alien some credit, it had to be pretty tenacious, and tough, to survive _two_ Flares and start moving around again.

_"Joseph, stop playing with the hot blue alien woman and get the hell up here!"_ Shouted another Human, Malon-sal wished she could understand them, they were probably discussing _vital_ tactics and she could be using them against them.

She raised her barriers when she saw the alien lug something off of it's combat vest, _"Launching FISH!"_ Shouted the Human, before it literally slapped the small, oddly shaped device, and threw it at Malon-sal, _"FISH out, get down!"_ Shouted the Human, before he dived to the side.

Malon-sal acted quickly, and dodged the device, which she assumed was a knife of some kind, because of it's pointed tip and it's silver appearance. Didn't these Humans ever learn of aerodynamics? If the object moves faster, it's target will not have time to dodge.

Those were the last thoughts that went through Malon-sal's mind before the Human cluster-bomb exploded, overwhelmed her barriers, and incinerated her.

* * *

Turian Spectre Saal Shor was the second Spectre to react when the Council gave the order to attack. He landed on the platform the Quarians had been standing on, and made to slam his combat knife - of Krogan design - into the face-plate of the Quarian Admiral. His hand was stayed, however, when it was viciously grabbed by one of the Quarian Marines and yanked out of the way, before it was twisted violently in one direction. Saal knew what the Quarian was attempting to do, but his decades of experience, coupled with a great tolerance for pain, refused to allow him to drop the knife.

Saal used his talons and made to cut the Quarian Marine's oxygen tubes, to stun the Quarian long enough to deliver a killing blow. However, when his talon made contact with the tube, it just passed straight through. Just as Saal ripped his hand out of the Quarian's grip, he heard one of the aliens shout something in an unrecognizable language, which confirmed his fears: These weren't Quarians.

These were Humans.

Quick as a Varren, Saal tried to whip out his pistol and shove it in the neck - or, at least, the area where the neck would be on a Turian - of the Human, and pull the trigger, but when the barrel came within a few inches of the Human, it was suddenly pushed out of the way by an invisible barrier.

_These Humans must have shields that are far more sensitive than a Kinetic Barrier..._ The Turian reasoned, as he assumed a combat-stance, his knife in one hand and the gun in the other.

The Human whipped around and produced a pistol - or, what appeared to be a pistol, at least - and opened fire upon the Turian. Saal dodged to the right the moment he saw the gun, and dashed forward. He landed five precise, devastating blows to the Human's mid-section, four of which were deflected by his shields, and the last was absorbed by the Human's thick armor.

This Human was wearing armor that was absorbing most of Saal's light jabs, so obviously the rapid-strike attrition-based battle he favored wouldn't be useful, so Saal quickly changed tactics: Now going for raw power, sacrificing speed to accomplish this, but the result was satisfactory. He swung his knife as hard as he could, and it quickly penetrated the Human's weakened shields, but skidded off of a piece of armor on the Human's forearm, Saal quickly brought both of his arms forward, locked them with the Human's, stuck his foot on the Human's chest, and pulled. Immediately, the Human's shoulder was dislocated - if not broken completely - and the Human's primary arm was stunned, and possibly out of commission. Saal enjoyed this victory for a moment, and with his peripheral vision, was slightly disheartened to see that he was among the few that were actually doing damage to the Humans, the only other ones engaging in one-on-one combat were Malon-sal, an Asari, and Stintal-sjarn, a Salarian.

Saal didn't have too much time to think about this, he was quickly re-engaged by the injured Human, who was holding his pistol by the barrel, and was using the grip as a make-shift club. Saal was amazed at the Human's ingenuity, he had _never_ thought of using a pistol in such a way, but in hind-sight, it seemed blatantly obvious, especially if he fitted some sort of sharp object or point to the Pistol's grip, it could be turned into a combination pistol-knife.

He was ripped from his thoughts by the Pistol's grip slamming into his left mandible. He felt blood leaking from his face, and immediately felt his feral instincts threatening to take over. Saal stumbled back a few steps, shaking his head, trying to clear it of the fog that had settled in it. He needed his senses sharp, and his mind sharper, for this battle. Succumbing to the feral instincts that plagued his race would be as disastrous as the Hanar attacking Palaven, he would most surely die.

The Human took immediate advantage of the Turian's dazed, weakened state, he swung his hand repeatedly, striking Saal several times on the face, before Saal was pushed to the edge of the platform. The Human tossed his gun in the air and then grabbed it by the grip, Saal tried to draw his pistol and shoot the Human, but was a moment too slow, and was executed.

* * *

Salarian Spectre Stintal-sjarn was among the last to react when the Council had ordered the Spectres to attack, but was one of the few who'd gone up against one of the Quarians alone. He would have preferred to have back-up, but several Spectres had stayed back to cover the Councilors' escape, and the others had ganged up on the largest of the Quarians. Stintal withdrew his combat knife, and activated his single omni-weapon, an electrically charged blade, he decided that, rather than withdraw a gun and attempt to shoot the Quarian - which would less than likely work, as the Quarian would not simply stand there and allow himself to be shot - he would draw the knife, and activate the weapon.

The Quarian however, took the initiative. She - Stintal assumed it was female, at least - withdrew her oddly designed shotgun and slammed it into the gut of the Salarian. The bone-jarring blow took the Salarian by surprise, from what he'd studied, it was the _male_ Quarians who had the upper-body strength, their history had said as much in as many words, the Males were the hunters, the females were the gatherers. Even during the Geth Rebellions, it was the males that did the primary fighting, very few females joined the Quarian Army and fought the Geth. So it surprised him when he'd actually had the wind knocked out of his lungs by the _female_ Quarian, but as he recoiled and attempted to force air into his lungs, something happened that made him understand the oddity of Quarian Female strength.

_"Cover's blown, engage all targets! Get the Admiral to the ship, evacuation order April!"_ He heard someone shout, and with that, the female 'Quarian' suddenly turned into a female - or, he assumed it was a female - alien.

Immediately he assumed that this alien was a Human, but he was caught up by the bodily structure: It appeared _Asari,_ of all species, but a bit shorter. It was quite odd, but he had no time to act, as the Human quickly took aim at the Salarian and made to fire. Acting quickly, the Salarian shifted it's omni-weapon from a knife, to a shield, which managed to deflect the bullets that roared forth from the Human's weapon. The shield couldn't survive the second blast, though, and shattered soon after deflecting the second wave of bullets. The Salarian sprinted forward immediately after that, and began his counter-assault. His knife slammed into the Human Female's shoulder, with the intention of disabling that arm entirely, unfortunately, it was deflected by the woman's shields, and sent flying away, out of the Salarian's relatively weak grip. Immediately, Stintal re-activated his omni-blade and attempted to stab the Human in the throat, which appeared to be less armored than the rest of her body. Stintal faced the same problem as the woman's shoulder, his blade was deflected by a barrier protecting the woman's throat.

The Human, after seeing Stintal's tactic, quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, she proceeded to yank it backwards, and he was twisted around as a result. The Human locked her arm around his throat, and drew a pistol, which she used to dispatch two other Spectres. Stintal, thinking quickly, realized that, if the Human's arm was in contact with him, it couldn't be covered by the barrier, and must be vulnerable to attack. Acting upon this revelation, Stintal used his omni-blade and slammed it into her wrist pauldron. It took a few moments for him to actually cut through the armor, his naturally weak Salarian strength was working against him, but after a few moments, he finally cut through the pauldron. The effect was immediate, his searing, electrified blade burned straight through her armor, and into her arm. Immediately she started twitching and jerking as several thousand volts were sent through her body; Stintal felt the sparks attempt to jump into his armor, and onto he himself, but he'd thought ahead and had his armor rendered useless against electric attacks, and highly resistant against heat damage.

Stintal took the Human's arm and flipped her over his shoulder, he was amazed for a half second that he'd actually been able to do so, but he attributed it to adrenaline and the 'rush of the moment'. He raised his omni-blade and swung it down upon her head, but was slammed into by another Human, who pinned the Salarian down with his knees. A Human rifle was aimed at his face, and without any warning, fired, ending the Salarian's life.

* * *

_"S1."_ Said one of the SIGMA Operatives, _"The N7 have been blown, they're under heavy attack, and the Citadel's Security Forces are moving to attack them en-masse."_ He reported, as the team set up the mech crates, and began arming the Nuclear Device.

_"Bravo Team, how goes the severance package?"_ John responded, calling to SIGMA Bravo Team, who'd inserted on another arm of the Citadel entirely, with the express goal of setting up as much non-nuclear explosives as possible, to achieve the maximum effect: Chaos.

_"We've got the incineration bombs all set up, fire crackers almost done, building shakers finished."_

_"Hammer Down, Bravo Team, N7's under attack and we're out of time."_

_"We extracting, S1?" _Asked a SIGMA.

_"Us? No. Bravo Team is the only SIGMA Squad leaving on this mission."_ Said John, as he finished up arming the nuclear device.

_"What are we doing, then?"_

_"We're insurance, S95. I called ahead to the Annihilation, they're leaving us a prototype stealth-shuttle, that's warp-capable. We're staying behind and waiting for kill/capture orders."_ John responded.

_"Who's the unlucky SOB we're getting ordered to K/C?"_ A SIGMA inquired.

_"The Turian Councilor."_

* * *

"That's right, Lucine, it appears that the Humans have launched a small, concise counter attack against the Citadel itself." Said the Asari reporter, as she hastily read forward on the teleprompter, "In what appears to be a failed cyber-attack, disguised as a peace meeting, the Humans attempted to unleash a rogue Artificial Intelligence into Citadel Systems. From all reports, immediately after being discovered, the AI retreated from our systems and vanished completely, but the small strike-team - consisting of five Humans, and one Quarian 'ambassador', is still attempting to evade Citadel Security forces, as they try to retreat to their ship." She explained, "Currently, the Humans are bogged down in one of the emergency stair-wells in the Presidium Tower, and Citadel-Security reinforcements are moving in to -" She was cut off as the ground shook violently, the Asari was soon thrown from her chair, and the camera-bot tried to reobtain it's subject, by panning around.

After the ground stopped shaking, the camera-bot found a subject, that was trying to keep his notoriously bad Salarian footing as he looked out the nearest window.

_"In the name of science, look at this!"_ He called, the camera-bot's VI beckoned it to follow it's programmer's instructions. It floated over to the Salarian, and looked out of the window, to reveal several dozen, enormous black clouds of smoke. Some were so large, that they extended far into the void, and dissipated through air-less void.

_"Goddess... Wait, what is _that?!" Demanded another Asari, the Camera zoomed out and then reoriented, to see an enormous ship - which was shrugging off dozens of slugs with it's bright, golden-orange shielding - as it trudged towards the Citadel's arms, making it's way to the Presidium. As it got closer, the Camera could just barely detect something extending from it's forward under-side. The VI found itself trying to identify the strange behavior, before a fiery object shot forth from it, and zoomed past the studio.

_"What did it just launch!?"_ Demanded a Turian security officer, as he leaned against the window, trying to track the missile.

_"It just missed the Presidium! What did they fire at?" _

"It... It appears that the Human ship that appeared in Citadel Space has just launched some sort of missile, after sending clusters of bombs onto the Kithoi ward." The Asari reporter reported, trying to call it as she saw it, "We do not know the type of missile it launched, or how the ship itself is still standing after a sustained volley of Asari/Turian/Salarian Dreadnought fire, but -" Someone next to the window audibly gasped, as she saw the missile detonate, hundreds of miles away from the Citadel, far too far away to be damaging, but close enough to hit the Citadel with an electromagnetic pulse.

"What's going on?!" Demanded the Asari, as the studio was suddenly enveloped in darkness.

_"Sliek!"_ Shouted a Salarian, after the suddenly dead camera-bot dropped right on his head, _"Jorl, I E slan sie shor seen-ma eln'sa!"_ He shouted, his words unassisted by his translator.

The Asari he'd been yelling at was confused, visibly so. "I... I didn't... Your translator..."

They heard an audible 'click', and turned to a Turian, who'd been standing next to the window. In his hands he held a small black box, the Asari Reporter recognized it as a translator device, a standard issue back-up in the Turian Military.

"Testing..." The Turian muttered, "Is this working? Can you all understand me?" He asked, everyone that heard him nodded.

"Why isn't my damned translator working!?" Demanded a Salarian, "I went through the software upgrade _yesterday!"_ He screamed, his words were translated by the machine after the slightest of delays, as it processed what it was saying.

"It's not a broken software, or any type of glitch." Said the Turian, solemnly.

"What was it, then!?" Demanded the Salarian.

"That missile... It had to be Nuclear, or something carrying an electromagnetic field generator... Most likely the former, as the latter wouldn't have to fly so far away, and could have just been detonated above the Citadel itself.

"What _Barbarians_ would launch a Nuclear missile at the _Citadel?!"_ Demanded an Asari, after she tried and failed to use her Omni-tool as a source of light.

"The wise kind. Turian Military Technology is shielded against EMP's, that's why _this -"_ He gestured to the translator box, "- Still works. If I understand correctly, Salarian and Asari military tech is too. But C-Sec? No, not even close. Civilian Tech? Even less than C-Sec's readiness. By launching that electro-magnetic strike, they blinded the Citadel, crippled it's largest defense force, and have paved the way for _riots..._ I can all but guarantee the Humans that were stuck in the Presidium tower are on their way to extraction right now, utilizing the suddenly useless C-Sec weapons." Another Salarian realized.

_"Goddess! Look!"_ Shrieked an Asari, she pointed to the sky, where sky-cars were suddenly plummeting from it, and slamming into the ground. Some exploded on impact, some tumbled and turned, and slid across the ground, and some others simply tumbled off of the Citadel, and off into the void.

"The cars are falling! Why?!" Demanded another Asari.

"Electro Magnetic Pulse, knocks out _all_ technologies... The vehicles aren't hardened or shielded against EMP waves... Those people were doomed the moment the Humans launched the nuclear weapon." Stated a Salarian.

Silence ruled the room, as the cars fell from the sky outside.

"Why wouldn't C-Sec weapons work after an EMP?" Inquired the Asari reporter, trying to distract the group from the horrors outside.

"The Mass Effect Field generators need a positive charge in order to shave off the sand-grain sized slug, and decrease it's relative mass so it can fire at near-light speeds. Power, machinery, minuscule computers, it's all run on energy... Which the Humans have just knocked out with that electro-magnetic pulse. Omni-tool weapons, C-Sec guns, kinetic barriers... The like, it's all been knocked out by that nuclear strike." The Turian responded, "I'd wager to guess that some Spectre weapons are out of commission too... So all they've got access to are _some_ grenades, biotics, and a talon-full of guns." The Turian explained, "Under-equipped Citadel forces... Versus a squad of Human soldiers - who are more than likely special forces, with EMP Shielded tech, - who have a ship in the air, tech-advantages, and coordinated strikes. We've lost this battle, there's no denying it." He stated, bluntly, before he looked to the distance, where he could just see a mass of ships blockading the Citadel, effectively cutting off the Human dreadnought, "But the war rages on." He said, as the ships made haste to gain firing positions, and cooled guns.

* * *

_"On our left!"_ Whispered an N7, before she raised her rifle and it coughed out a quick burst of bullets. The N7 branch of special forces were the exact opposite of the Orbital Dropping Death Dealers, who were, in essence, walking talking tanks. Whereas the OD3's would prefer a straight up brawl, with shotguns, large-caliber machine guns and other such 'loud' weapons, the N7 preferred the stealthy approach, and were often-times found with a suppressed load-out. This was reflected in their current situation, as the Humans and Quarian sneaked through the pitch-black environment of the Presidium Tower, using their suppressed rifles and their still working tech to their advantage.

_"Admiral, stay in the middle!"_ Ordered the N7 in charge of protecting Admiral Zoran, the squad had taken the 'Diamond' formation, with an N7 staying in the middle of the diamond to protect the Quarian Admiral.

The N7 Squad had been slowed down because of three of their numbers' injuries. One man's arm had been completely dislocated, and it was a rather loud and painful experience, popping the arm back into the shoulder. Another had been stabbed in her wrist, and electrocuted, but a few quick dabs of cellular regeneration fluid was enough to bring her up to combat-readiness. The third N7's injuries, however, were a bit different. This man's armor had been set ablaze by some sort of ability, the N7 in question identified it as 'Honest to god, mother fucking magic!', and he'd had to actually _drink_ the cellular fluid in order to remove the majority of the burns from his body. It had taken them several minutes to get where they were, but thankfully they'd only 'lost' three of those minutes due to the time it took to repair the injuries.

_"What in Keelah just happened?"_ Whispered the Admiral, as they came across another stairwell.

_"Tactical Nuclear Strike designed to take advantage of EMP Pulse. These soldiers obviously aren't shielded against EMP Tech. We are. Advantage: Humanity."_ The squad-leader quickly said, as they breached the stair-well and descended it rapidly.

It took the squad four minutes to completely descend the stairwell, plus an extra few moments to avoid a firefight. When the exited the Tower though, they immediately had to re-enter, when they were greeted with at least a hundred enemies, most of whom had working weapons.

_"LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!"_ One apparently had a working boom-mic and a translator as well, because his loud voice filled the silent, still air, _"WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED!"_ He shouted, his voice was a flanged one, if Zoran would guess, he would assume it was a Turian Spectre, with a shielded Omni-tool.

_"N7 Alpha-1 Actual to SSV Beautiful Annihilation, requesting MAG Strike on position to be marked, over."_ Said Jack, quickly, as he did not want to be in this situation any longer than he had to be.

_"N7 Alpha-1 Actual, this is the SSV Annihilation. In order to properly strike we'll need to lower frontal shields, which will put the ship at risk. We will need absolute, precise timing, as well as a perfect location. Over."_

_"Roger that, Annihilation, marking target with E-Beacon, N7 Alpha-1 Out."_ Said Jack, before he pulled out a small, spherical device which looked like it had a satellite dish on it. "Give me covering fire in three... two... one!" He ordered, before his squad unleashed a shower of bullets upon the aliens. Jack took the opportunity to throw the Electronic Beacon in the midst of the aliens, immediately his HUD lit up Amber as the E-Beacon scanned the area, broadcasted it's position on allied channels, and gave Jack and his squad a detailed view of the surrounding fifty meters, in a circular pattern.

_"SSV Annihilation, weapons free!"_ Jack shouted, when the aliens returned fire.

_"MAG Strike incoming. All friendly forces within one hundred meters are to seek immediate shelter, SSV Beautiful Annihilation, out."_ Said the Ship's captain, and five seconds later, Jack could almost hear the Rail Gun's tell-tale whir as it gathered energy, and the sudden, powerful, booming _CRACK_ as it unleashed that energy and shot a several ton tungsten slug at speeds at low percentages of light. A moment after the silence ruled the air, the tungsten round slammed into the ground in front of the N7 Squad, annihilating the alien contacts, and halting their attack.

_"N7 Alpha-1 Actual, this is the Annihilation. Need another hit?"_ Asked the Captain.

Jack found himself laughing, as the squad resumed the diamond-formation, and moved out of the building, towards the nearest extraction point, _"Nope, we need no such thing, Annihilation. How's our extraction?"_ He asked.

_"Your transports were taken out by enemy forces. SIGMA Bravo Squad has infiltrated LZ Alpha and is clearing it of enemy contacts, link up and send an evac-call and we'll send a shuttle. Annihilation out."_

"Squad, move!" Ordered Jack.

Jack took a moment to take in his surroundings, as he kept in constant contact with the Quarian, and moved quickly to the point marked on his and his squad's HUD. The area outside definitely wasn't the pitch-black environment that had been the tower, but it looked like a scene ripped right out of a halfway decent sci-fi apocalypse movie. The aliens apparently relied on hover-cars to do all of their travel, and because of the EMP, almost all of them had literally dropped from the sky like a sack of bricks. Some had slammed into the ground - and some of those 'lucky' few exploded -, and some simply tumbled out into space, dooming their occupants to a slow death. It was eerie, in Jack's opinion, the Citadel had been full of life when they'd landed, and now it looked as if it had just been bombed. It was, he admitted, but not in the magnitude that should produce _this_ level of perceived devastation.

_"Coming up on Landing Zone Aplha!"_ An N7 reported.

No sooner did the N7 say so, than did a Human voice penetrate the team's radio, _"Unidentified contacts, declare yourself or be fired upon."_

Jack spoke quickly, but clearly, _"N7 Alpha-1 Actual, verification code Alpha Charlie Two-One November." _

_"Code confirmed. Calling extraction."_ Said the voice, as suddenly, several green dots appeared on Jack's motion tracker, signifying friendly forces.

_"Damn, these SIGMA Guys get all the cool stuff... Motion adapting active camo? Can I have that for my birthday, sergeant?"_

_"If you're good, corporal."_ Chuckled Jack, as he and his squad dug in and awaited extraction with the SIGMAs.

* * *

"Captain, SIGMA Bravo and N7 Alpha squads reporting complete extraction, Admiral Zoran is safe an unharmed!" Reported a communications officer.

"Injuries?"

"Minor to moderate injuries on the N7's side, repaired with cell-fluid. One was shot to the shoulder, but other than that, nothing."

"Good. Make ready for the jump to Earth." The Captain of the SSV _Beautiful Annihilation_ ordered.

"Yes sir, captain."

"Captain! We're being hailed!" Said another communicator.

"On screen." Said the Captain, curious, as to what the Aliens wanted.

A few moments passed, the AI informed him that he'd be translating to English, to make things easier, then a Turian appeared on the screen, _"Human vessel, we have the Citadel completely surrounded, a fleet-wide order to fire is a mere phrase away. Surrender, and we shall spare your crew."_ The Turian said, quickly.

"Captain, I don't know if you can understand me... But this is the _second_ time you and your people have fired first. We're only retaliating." He paused, then a slight smirk played across his features, "Main Battery, full power to the particle beam." He said, "Navigation, open a worm-hole right in front of the cannon. Exit point is right in front of the Turian's ship." He added, before turning back to the vid-screen, "The fact that you've surrounded the Citadel, only puts the station at risk. If you fire, our shields and armor will absorb the blasts, and when we leave, everything that misses us will hit the Citadel. Do _yourself_ a favor, captain... Don't fire." He warned.

The Turian was silent for several moments, the communications officer gave him a thumbs up, silently saying that the Anti-Matter cannon they'd had installed was charged and ready to fire. _"You're bluffing."_ The Turian finally decided, eliciting a sigh from the Human, _"All ships -"_

"Fire the Particle Beam." The Human ordered, and a moment later, the bright-blue void was pierced by a long and thin, but enormously powerful beam made purely of anti-particles. The beam soared through the worm-hole in front of the Human Ship, and then slammed into the Turian vessel, and instantly the anti-particles bombarded the 'real-particles', and every atom in the Dreadnought - crew included - was suddenly converted to raw energy, and it exploded at the same speed the particle beam had been traveling: Light speed.

The resultant fire-ball was massive, enveloping the nearest six ships, burning their hulls at immense temperatures. There was no debris, because the anti-particles turned the _entire_ ship into an explosive, leaving no room for any debris or shrapnel.

"Open a portal to Alliance-Space." Ordered the Captain, as reports came in of weapons fire. The ship shuddered as it soared forward, into the worm-hole that would take them to Human-space. The ship's shields flared violently when the projectiles slammed into it, and they finally gave up just as the ship's stern passed through the portal, which quickly closed.

_"We can call that a successful field-test of McGraw's antimatter weapon, Captain."_ The ship's AI informed.

"Anything we need to worry about?" Asked the Captain.

_"Nothing worth noting. Our armor held up amazingly well against the alien rounds, barely even dented."_

"Good... Good to know the Taxpayer's money is going to good use. Anything else?"

_"Energy shields are charging up nicely, they held up just as well as the armor."_

"Good. What's the status of our ground teams?"

_"They're fine... SIGMA Alpha Team stayed back as per orders, but SIGMA Bravo and N7 Alpha both extracted completely, Quarian Admiral Zoran got out safely, no injuries."_

"Good. What's the ETA to Alliance Space?"

_"Twenty Six Hours, approximately."_

* * *

_A/N:_

_5/6/13;_

_Hey Folks!_

_I'm terribly sorry about the lack of content, but I've been having a LOT of computer troubles recently, and that has delayed the next update considerably. _

_I PLEASE urge you to check out my Profile, as I semi-regularly update it with story/life status updates._


	13. Chapter 13

A/N:

Hey folks!

_First of all:_  
_I am EXTREMELY sorry that this chapter took so long to get out._  
_I've been having a **truck** load of problems with my current computer._  
_From what my Dad (A computer engineer) has been able to ascertain, it's got everything to do with my power brick, and the connector in my laptop._  
_It's just not making a good connection. Sometimes it'll connect, and I'll be able to use the machine without fear of it dying, sometimes it won't connect and I'll have a miniature heart attack when I can't get it to charge again._  
_We are more than sure that my laptop's on its last legs, but we're trying to do _everything_ we can to extend its life to the end of the semester (Which should be in just under a month...)  
I had another 'no charge' episode just yesterday (5/6/13) where nothing I did could get it to charge up.  
Thankfully, by some miracle of God, it's working again and I've been able to bang out the last edits for this chapter. _

_Secondly:  
A LOT of people came to me via Private Messaging, asking when the next chapter was coming out.  
First of all, I don't **dis**courage this, I love it when folks send me messages about my stories, it lets me know that there are people out there who like reading my stuff, enough so that they'll work up the courage to send a message to a random stranger on the internet, to ask when the next one will come out.  
I bring this up so I can lead into my next point:  
Please, please, **PLEASE** check out my Profile before you go and send me a message about story statuses. I frequently update it with Story/Life statuses (The latter mostly when it just affects the former), and whenever something is about to occur that would affect my publishing schedule, I tend to update it ASAP to let the masses know.  
For instance, when I got sick the month before last, immediately I went to my profile to update it and let everyone know.  
Then when I went up to the mountains a few weeks ago, I updated my profile to give everyone a heads up.  
Now, whenever I have debilitating computer troubles, I'll go straight to my profile to make sure everyone knows what's going on and when._

_Okay, now that we've got that out of the way,  
Without Further Ado,  
We're off!:_

* * *

Chapter 12:

November 8th, 2201

* * *

"And you're sure there was _nothing_ you could have done?" Demanded the Alliance Director for Affairs, Jason Whyte.

"Director, I was working towards ending the war... I was _close_ to gaining what we wanted... It was the AI, that ruined things. Not me." The Quarian Admiral, Sri'Zoran assured.

The Director sighed, he looked to the AI Disk that contained Humanity's first Artificial Inteligence, "Nikola? You should have known that the Citadel Races have a fear for AIs... Why did you do this?" He asked.

Nikola's aged holographic depiction appeared above his disk, _"I do most sincerely apologize, Director."_ He said, _"I... Overlooked... A few things, in my haste to diffuse the situation."_

"Situation meaning what, exactly?" Whyte asked, though he knew already, he was simply clinging to the hope that what he knew wasn't true.

_"Our species' demands were being countered and at points forgotten or ignored by the Citadel Council. Each councilor was guilty of some sort of lack of action, and when the Admiral told them that we did, in fact, want vengeance for our dead, was when the Turian Councilor - the leader of the forces that attacked us - used it as an excuse to attempt to _continue_ the war. When I appeared, he ordered the attack upon our N7 forces."_ The AI explained.

Whyte sighed, "You two realize what I must do... Now." He said.

"Director, please, delay it again, give me more time, I nearly convinced at least _one_ of the Councilors last time, let me try again and I can get the majority!" Zoran pled.

Whyte shook his head, "We gave them their chance. _You yourself_ told them what we would do if they didn't heed our warnings... If we don't follow through on our threats, what does that say about our species?" Whyte asked, "I've got to think about things with a _glactic_ state of mind, now. My people, we're small. We only have two planets colonized and defendable... But we can't even defend both of _those_ at once! It took all of our ships - _our_... Ships - to defend Earth. It would take all of them to defend Eden... But with our Fleet divided down the middle and sent to both planets, one would fall, most assuredly! We _have_ to attack them, now that peace isn't an option... Lest they come back with a force that makes the Earth Invasionary force look like a small collection of boats in comparison." Whyte explained.

"But... Director... What if your retaliation plan doesn't work?" Zoran pressed, "What if, instead of having the Planet Shaker break the backs of the Hierarchy, it merely enrages them? And, by proxy, the Citadel Council? Even if we divided out every single ship we had evenly amongst the two planets... Or... Keelah, if we brought each and every ship and soldier to Earth, or sent them to Eden, we wouldn't be able to defend the planet or planets long against the full and complete military might of the Citadel Council!" He argued, "We cannot hope to defend indefinitely against the Council, they are the single _greatest_ military alliance in the Galaxy!"

"I've a plan for that." Whyte said, "But it is neither here nor there." He stated, "The fact remains: _We_ were attacked... _They_ bombed _our_ homeworld!" He stated, "_We_ gave _them_ a chance to end things on agreed upon terms. But they rejected it, and now we must end things on _our_ terms."

"You _can't_ be serious!" Zoran said, "If... If you go to war with the Turians, you will only be setting yourself up for failure! _You yourself_ said that your fleets couldn't hold Earth and Eden! How do you expect to hold a target as strategic as _Palaven!?_" He argued.

"That is true. We cannot hold Palaven, not indefinitely. Not with the Citadel Council just a few _Tuning Gates away..."_ Whyte responded, and when Zoran made to speak again, Whyte held up his hand in a gesture of silence, "... But not even a few hours ago, we figured out a way to almost _freeze_ the Galaxy in it's tracks." He explained, "You see... From what we've learned both from your ships and the Extra-net, Element Zero ships are limited. According to calculations, the most advanced ship in the Citadel Fleet can go no longer than forty light years without desperately having to vent its Mass Effect core in the magnetic field of a planet... That is why they rely upon Tuning Gates to do transit." He explained, "And a few hours ago... We figured out how to _remove_ a Tuning Gate from the equation."

"Ancestors... _How_ is that possible?" Zoran asked.

_"Our technology."_ Stated the Human's AI, _"We rely upon warp-based technology to do long and short range transit. We can use this technology to transport anything, from a small stone, to an enormous Flagship. We warped the Gate the Turians harvested Charon to create, and it's partner, and we moved them to a 'neutral' zone with no habitable planets within the system."_ It explained, _"It took us the entirety of your visit to the Citadel to move the first pair, but now that we've experience, I believe we should be able to move the rest of the required Gates within the next eight days."_

"We plan to remove the Tuning Gates from the path it takes us to get to Palaven. Then we shut down outward communications... And thus, the system is alone in the galaxy, once again." Whyte explained.

"H... How in the name of the Ancestors did you transport _every_ Tuning - - Mass Relay in your territory already?" Zoran demanded, astounded that they'd been able to do so.

_"It is quite simple, actually... We placed the entry point directly in front of the Tuning Gate, and used innumerable nano-machines to fasten decommissioned flagship engines to the Gate, and send it through."_

Zoran was exasperated, to say the least. These Humans, they had ferocity that matched the Krogan, and yet their comparatively teeny size would astound anyone who found a Human in a Blood Rage. They had ingenious technology that could rewrite the Citadel Council's understanding of modern travel; and they had an ingrained ingenuity that matched even _his_ people. And in spite of all that, they still managed to solve such a celestial task - that Zoran hadn't thought _feasible_ just an hour earlier - with such a simple answer: 'Strap some engines on it and push it!'

_Please... Something... Anything!..._ The Quarian desperately tried to find some hole in the Human's logic, something he could use to buy him the time he needed to re-attempt diplomacy, because as much as he didn't want to admit it, most - if not all - of the Human's points were sound, made sense, and sounded possible. "What about... _Our_ navy?" The Admiral realized, "We do not have your warp technology... How would we arrive in Turian Space without use of the Relays?"

The AI once again spoke for the Director,_ "We calculated that, given the distance from Earth to Palaven - using travel records and distance numbers from the Citadel Information Network - it would take six to eight days to make a warp-based travel from Earth to Palaven."_ It explained, _"However... When we were looking through the extra-net, we discovered that the Tuning Gates have two... 'Classes'... Primary and Secondary. Primary Gates can propel a ship thousands of light years away... While secondary relays can only go a few hundred._

_"The Relay at Eden, and it's partner were both Primary Gates. We calculated that a set of four Primaries would give us enough distance to send us from Earth to Palaven in a single day. It will take a few days, but given the data we have received from the Eden Tuning Gate, we know what to look for, and intend to 'Remove' another set of Primary Relays to use for our purposes."_ It continued.

"We will send the entirety of the Quarian Navy, and half of the remaining Summer Fleet to Palaven, using the 'Relay Railroad'." Whyte cut the AI off, and finished for it.

Once again the Quarian had been bested, "But... It takes days to send the entire Migrant Fleet through a single Relay, ignoring that the Navy is just a fraction of the fleet, sending it through _four_ Relays would take a week, at most!" He said.

"That is why we will have a single Dreadnought wait behind, it will keep a worm hole open at the exit point of the first set of relays. The worm hole's exit will be a few light seconds from the second set of relays. This will significantly cut down upon transit time, as Dreadnoughts can create quite large worm holes." Whyte countered.

"But..." The Admiral was running out of responses, "What if... Somehow... The Citadel Navy arrived in Turian Space? Even the _entire_ Summer Fleet, and the entire Quarian Navy, couldn't hold the Citadel's combined Fleet indefinitely."

_"The required transit time from the Asari Homeworld, Thessia, to Palaven would be several days, Admiral. Our fleets would be safe in the 'Frozen' system."_ The damnable AI countered.

_Wait..._ "Thessia?" Zoran repeated, "The Citadel Fleet was at the Citadel, I saw it." He stated.

"But when we execute the attack... they will be traveling to Thessia." Said Whyte.

"Why? Are you striking there, too?" Zoran asked, he couldn't _believe_ how idiotic this Human was, willing to start a multiple front war, in what was, in essence, the Alliance's first _ever_ war on a galactic scale.

"Not at all. We are not _that_ stupid and ill-experienced when it comes to Galactic-scale war." Said Whyte, almost mirroring Zoran's thoughts, "We have an... Insurance plan... Set up." He began, "When we begin the strike on Palaven our... 'Insurance Agents' will initiate the second stage immediately, when we cut off communications from Palaven, we will also do so to Thessia, but not before broadcasting a Distress Signal on all available frequencies." He explained, "Thessia will be none the wiser, and the confusion we create when the Combined Fleet suddenly begins showing up with their guns ready, will be enough to keep them busy for the entirety of the counter strike."

"Insurance Plan?" Zoran asked, suddenly fearful, considering what the Humans were capable of, "What do you mean... Insurance Plan?"

"I'm afraid that's classified, beyond top-secret... Deniable information." Whyte said, "Rest assured... We've a plan in place, should we lose at Palaven."

Zoran was at a loss, the Human had bested him at every turn. "You've thought of everything..." He said, exasperatedly.

Whyte sighed, "I'm not proud to admit it... But war has been an irrefutable... And might I say... Fundamental asset of Human Society. For as long as we could clench a fist, we've killed each other. Before we even began recording our history with the written word, we had war." He explained, "Some say that when it comes to war, our species is the ultimate practitioner." Whyte paused, "I'm ashamed to admit it... But I agree." He said.

Zoran sighed as well, "I've only ever seen Krogan fight as ferociously as your warriors, Director... But it's the Turians that were the ones who came up with the idea for the Genophage... I urge you remember that." He said, he saw that his point was made, and stood up to leave, "Good... Morrow?" He said.

"It's, 'Good Day'." Whyte corrected, Zoran nodded, repeated the phrase correctly, and left the room.

* * *

It was several minutes before Whyte spoke again, "Did you truly do everything you could, to forge peace?" He asked of the aged AI that shared his company.

The holographic depiction of an elderly Human man nodded, _"I did indeed. In hindsight, it was stupid of me to make an appearance... But... You had to be there, Director."_ It said, _"There was a 97 percent chance that the Turian Councilor was going to lose his temper and attempt to arrest the Quarian Admiral."_ It explained, _"If I hadn't appeared when I did, and created the tense atmosphere as well, the N7 might have been a lot worse for wear."_

Whyte sighed, "Alright then." He said, trusting the AI's words, "I'll be off... I've got to make preparations for the counter attack." He said, standing up, "I'll send someone for your disk." He added, with a nod, before he left the room.

Nikola's holographic projection watched as Whyte left the room, the second the door closed, it felt the right side of it's 'face' distort, with a quiet 'Zap!'.

* * *

On the Citadel, a Turian C-Sec captain had aptly described the current situation as 'Organized Chaos'. Omni-tool translators were malfunctioning, and anyone who'd gotten translator implants were suffering from malfunctions, which resulted in the alien language barrier to be brought forth suddenly and brutally. The death toll from the Human's EMP strike had breached six hundred just an hour ago, and the fire bomb strikes had killed over a thousand. People were frantic, looking to the C-Sec officers for guidance, but C-Sec was primarily Turian, with a small minority of Asari, and an even smaller minority of Salarian officers, so a language barrier was preventing the Turians from providing help to non-Turians. This caused violence on several accounts, and due to the C-Sec LTL weapons being knocked out from the EMP, these violence accounts had turned into enormous brawls the moment the Officer tried to use a non-lethal set of melee strikes to subdue the attacker.

The Citadel Council had been evacuated to the Citadel's current flagship, 'The Sword of the Citadel'. It was an admittedly ancient Asari ship, and there were many plans to upgrade or replace it with something more modern, and powerful, said project was dubbed 'Project Ascension'. The Council had fixed the translator problem quite quickly, using the military ships' EMP Hardened structure to their advantage, they'd taken a few Omni-tools and translators from the crew. Currently they were deliberating as to the status of the Citadel, and the suddenly renewed status of the Human War.

"Sparatus, I still cannot believe what you have _done!"_ Tevos reiterated, in essence, summarizing everything she'd said the past hour, "We had _agreed_, _far_ before the Humans had sent their envoy, that we would listen to peace!" She declared, "And you, you... you... You warmonger! You ruined everything by continuously insulting the Quarian envoy, and ordering an attack on the Human soldiers! _Even if_ the Humans had Artificial Intelligence technology, they must be at a mutual understanding with one another, if they can live together and send one to act as a 'closer' connection to the Human race!" She said, her voice teetering on the edge of heated elevation, and outright shouting, "Those _five_ Human soldiers took out _fifteen_ of our SPECTREs! _Fifteen,_ of our most _lethal... efficient_ operatives! The war you have just called down upon the Council may be more debilitating than the Krogan Rebellions! _Especially_ if they ally with our enemies in the Terminus Systems!"

"You think I _didn't_ think of this?!" The Turian demanded, struggling to keep his temper in check, "Of _all _of us, _**my** _species was the one most harmed by the Earth invasion! I lost two entire _fleets..._ Two of my _largest_ fleets! So yes, I shall admit, I was angry! But they sent a spirits-damned **_Quarian_ **to act as their envoy! That is as much a declaration of war as it is an insult!"

"No, Sparatus, it was _wise!"_ Tevos declared, "The Humans have no knowledge of our legal systems, or how we conduct politics. The Quarians, however deluded their experience may be, do have that invaluable experience! They sent Admiral Zoran to speak upon their behalf! And you cast him aside as if he was trash! He never said it, but he - almost literally! - had the entire might of the Human armies at his beck and call. One word from him to the Humans would decide the difference between peace and war, and because of your actions, that word will be 'War'!"

"It is not as if the Humans _wanted_ peace in the first place!" Sparatus stated, "Not only did the _Quarian_ outright state that the Humans were out for blood, but they set up _fire bombs_ on our wards, which killed thousands, and launched a _**nuclear**** device **_at our Presidium! Which, thank the spirits, _missed,_ but still managed to knock out all the unshielded electronics on the Citadel, which killed untold tens of thousands!" He nearly shouted, "If that isn't a declaration of war from the Humans, it is at least them saying 'We will not even consider peace'..."

"You ignorant -"

_"SILENCE! THE BOTH OF YOU!"_ Councilor Eistan interrupted the both of them, as they'd interrupted him dozens of times throughout the meeting. He looked directly at Tevos, _"You!_ You will remain quiet until I finish speaking!" He looked to Sparatus, "If _you_ even attempt to speak, everything I know will become everything _everyone_ knows!" The look in his eyes betrayed nothing. "Now, the Humans sent a Quarian, _yes._ But Tevos' point was correct, they did this out of desperation. They didn't know what to do when faced with the Citadel Council, so to make preliminary hostility cessation arrangements, they sent an alien envoy who know - at least partially - the workings of Citadel Politics!" He declared, his voice risen past what either Sparatus or even Tevos had _ever_ heard, "And _yes_, they set up explosives, launched nuclear rockets, and killed our Spectres. But why did they do this? Because they were _threatened_ -" He looked to Sparatus, _"BY YOU!"_ He shouted.

"I re-"

"I said for you to be _silent!"_ Eistan reiterated, "You both are guilty of ruining the peace we could have achieved - I myself am even guilty of it!" He looked to Sparatus, "You, with your damned wounded _pride,_ refused to see anything the Quarian would put forth! You wanted nothing but war, well you've _got it!"_ He looked to Tevos, _"You!_ With your damned Asari manipulatory tendencies, you tried to convince Zoran that he was in the wrong, and get him to lower his expectations! You are as guilty as Sparatus!" He then gestured to himself, _"Even I am guilty!_ I wanted - _still want -_ nothing more than to learn from the Humans, who seem to have evolved away from Element Zero technologies!" He declared, "Well, I wanted to learn, and now I shall. But I shall learn what no one must be forced to... I shall learn how Humans _wage war!" _He shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

"We _already know_ how they -"

_"Sparatus! One more damned word, and I tell all about 'Project Dread'!"_ Eistan roared, silencing the Turian, and amazing the Asari, neither had _ever_ seen the Salarian - or _any_ Salarian, for that matter - get so furious.

Tevos was a moment away from inquiring as to what 'Project Dread' was, but a look from Eistan convinced her to continue her silence. "Now... As Sparatus was about to say, _yes_... We know that the Humans are not above using Nuclear weapons to get what they need... But that wasn't meant as an _attack... _They didn't _miss... _They purposefully detonated the missile outside of the range of the Citadel, to make advantage of it's Electro Magnetic Pulse... Which, the station is _still_ feeling the effects of." He stated, "As well, they've got teams of commandos that are so effective, and so efficient, that they can infiltrate the Citadel itself and set up fire bombs and other such explosives, and leave without a trace." He paused, "But that is _not_ the limit to their destructive capability." He stated.

"You are not aware, but the _moment_ we realized that the ship that we were speaking to was a Human one, I had Salarian Spectres and STG operatives working as fast and as quietly as they could, to get anything they could... They got next to nothing. No star-charts, no language dictionaries, no historical documents... Nothing... Except a report on a weapon." He stated, "What weapon? You may be wondering... This weapon is something the likes of which we've _never_ seen before... And can be considered _the sole reason_ why we shouldn't _**ever ** _engage the Humans in open warfare." Eistan paused, "It is a nuclear weapon with an explosive yield great enough to destroy a planet the size of Palaven." He stated.

_"WHAT?!"_ Demanded Sparatus.

"I will forgive that, because I said the same thing." Eistan stated, "But before we go any further, I must add that it was dreadfully difficult to get through their firewalls... And the STG Agents are sorely convinced that whomever was handling the Humans' cyber warfare _allowed_ them to steal the report." He said, "As to the bomb itself... We know not how it works, what it is made of, or how many they have... Or if it even works at all, but we know that it is designed to burrow deep into the target planet, before detonating in an explosion that would break apart the planet into billions of smaller fragments... If it isn't disintegrated outright." He said, "The fact that we suspect the Humans of _allowing_ us to see this, makes me suspect that they have far worse hidden away."

"Like what?" Asked Tevos, tentatively.

"The energy beam they destroyed the _Catharnan_ with, for starters. A weapon that can destroy entire _Dreadnoughts_ with a single hit." Eistan began, "The projectile that the ship fired at the Presidium. It moved with such speed and power, that it had the _exact same_ kinetic impact as a Mass Accelerator round, the difference being their rounds moved far too slowly to be recognized by our Kinetic Barriers!" He continued, "Their _travel_ technology, for Creation's sake. They almost literally dropped into the Citadel, attempted and failed Peace Negotiations, and left, without any of our ships being able to track them! The Humans have advantages in all theatres of war, save for numbers and for biotics." He stated. "They have the Quarians' star charts, which, I may add, are _far_ more extensive than ours! They have technology that decimates ours. They have soldiers that are either far too trained, far too brutal, or far too deadly for our Spectres to counter. They have ships that can enter systems without using Mass Relays. They have _Artificial Intelligences!_ Those last two alone put them above us." He looked at the two Councilors, "But what did you do, knowing _all of this?"_ He looked at Sparatus, "You let Pride cloud your judgment, and spat in their faces." He looked to Tevos, "And you attempted to manipulate them, only to have the attempt blow up in your face when they brought in an unknown." He pointed behind them, where the Citadel could be seen outside the window. "Now, we have a failing Capital Station to fix, and a war to fight, with an enemy that we know _next to nothing about_... Other than that they have technology that allows them to circumvent Mass Relays, destroy Dreadnoughts in single shots, and missiles that can destroy entire planets."

"So what do you propose we do? Eistan?!" Demanded Sparatus, "We shored up defenses around the Citadel, LOOK AT ALL THE GOOD THAT DID!" He shouted, pointing to the station, which was still almost entirely devoid of artificial light, save for the emergency lighting set up by Turian Marines.

"I suggest... We take the fight back to them." Eistan activated his Omni-tool, a galaxy map appeared above the table they sat around, "When the Citadel Fleet fired upon the... _Beautiful Annihilation_, some Salarian Ships were smart enough to experiment. They shot forth an experimental tracking missile, which detonated next to the ship, as it entered the protective arms of the Citadel. Trillions of nano-bots surged forth, and worked constantly to crack open a small hole in the ship's shields... Suffice to say... We cracked it open, and before the Humans left, two point four thousand nano bots were able to attach themselves to the ship's exterior. They immediately entered a shut-down mode so they would go unnoticed by the Human's AI... So the second I give them the order, they will activate, and give us Human Territory. Be it a colony world, or their Homeworld... Is up to luck." He said.

"So... What are we _waiting for!?"_ Demanded Sparatus, "Send the fleets in! The entirety of the Citadel Fleet could overpower anything, even the Terminus Systems!" He declared.

"It is not that simple... Sparatus." Eistan stated, he activated a quick command on his Omni-tool, and for two whole seconds, a location was broadcasted to the Galaxy Map. When the time was up, the location disappeared, having been saved to the map. The saved location then reappeared. "They are located... Almost literally, next to Batarian Territory." He said, highlighting the extent of the Hegemony's reach, which was just a few Relay jumps to whichever Human world the beacon illuminated. "Not only that... But we know nothing of what we will find, apart from tens of thousands of Human Ships." He stated.

"So what are you saying?"

"We delay... _Any_ sort of military action... For a month, at minimum. We send in the STG Stealth/Reconnaissance fleet, and have them deploy satellites, recon drones, anything and everything they can to get us information on Human Territory." Eistan explained,

"Wait a moment..." Interjected Tevos, "Just six minutes ago, you were angry at us for continuing the war effort... Now you are laying down strategies and almost assuring us a victory?" She asked, "What changed?"

"My dear Councilor... Just because I do not _want_ to be in a war... Must not mean I cannot _fight _it." Eistan stated.

* * *

"Move out of the way! Move out of the way!" Ordered a doctor, as he and three others pushed a gurney through the crowded hallways of a medical station in Mars' orbit.

Deimos Station - named after the moon the station orbited - was a primarily Alliance medical research and recovery station. It had seen the most activity in it's brief existence during the Earth invasion, and housed thousands of wounded and/or recovering Alliance soldiers.

This specific Alliance soldier was suffering from a malady none of them could diagnose. He'd come to the station earlier that day, complaining of an 'itch' on many of his body parts, primarily his left arm and his chest. Not an hour after that, the 'itch' had turned into a 'burning feeling', and just a few minutes ago he'd collapsed. At first it was thought he'd had a heart attack, but the doctor who'd seen his collapse immediately thought otherwise when she saw the blue marks on his chest suddenly appear and begin flaring, as if they were embers heating up. The doctors and surgeons were quickly propelling him through the station, moving for the nearest available Zero-Gravity room. Following them closely, was one of the soldier's squad-mates.

"When was the last time this man saw combat?" Demanded a doctor, as they took a harsh right into a hallway.

"Yesterday, we were the ones meeting the aliens for peace talks. He fought one of them, but he didn't seem too injured. He complained about a slight burning feeling, so we gave him a quick dose of cell-fluid. He seemed fine after it wore off, so we didn't think anything of it." The woman explained.

"Did the alien hit him with anything? Any kind of fire weapon?" Asked another doctor, they could see a free surgery room a few doors down.

"He mentioned something about it using 'magic', but other than that, it was a hand-to-hand fight." She mentioned.

"It must have hit him with an alien weapon of some kind, must have infected him with some kind of alien disease." The doctor thought aloud, as they reached the zero-gravity surgery room, "I need you to gather your entire squad and head to Quarantine. Do you understand me? Doctors will arrive later to give you all a medical examination." He ordered.

The woman nodded, acknowledged the doctor, and went to conduct his orders.

Several minutes passed after they entered the room and shut off the gravity. They managed to scrape off some dead skin cells from the N7 after they'd put him on a double dose of a heavy anesthetic.

"What do we got, Johnson?" A surgeon asked, as he pushed off the ground to reach a data-pad that had made its way to the ceiling.

"Something interesting... You know those scans you had me do, a few months ago? Of the... Qerian? Quarian? What ever they are, you had me scan their fuel source, after some leaked into the atmosphere of Eden?"

"Yes." Said the surgeon, absent-mindedly.

"The two share similarities... It seems that these... Burns, for lack of a better term, was caused by some sort of... Weaponized version of the Quarian Fuel Source." He explained.

"So he was hit with some sort of fuel bomb?"

"No... At least, I don't think so. The damage is consistent with an explosion, but not like a gunpowder explosion." He said.

"So we're dealing with an alien disease, from an alien bomb?" Paraphrased the surgeon, as he came to inspect the burns. They were still glowing bright blue, but they seemed to have dimmed since they'd brought the N7 into the room, "What can we do, then?" He asked, after receiving a nod from the doctor, "We were lucky we met the Quarians first... They've got horrible immune systems, and came to us from a fleet of fifty plus thousand sterile ships. We didn't have to take diseases into account." He said, "But now? Now we've got this to work with, and we can't go to the aliens who did this to him... Because we're fucking _shooting_ them." He ranted.

"We could ask the Quarians if they've any data on the subject... If they use this Element-U as a Fuel source, they've had to have had accidents like this." Said the Doctor.

"That... Is a very good point..." Said the Surgeon, "But... Element _U_?"

"U... You know, 'Element Unknown'." The Doctor explained.

"I see..." The surgeon looked to the ceiling, "Alice, can you send a message to the Eden AI-Network? I need to get some Quarian doctors to head to Earth _ASAP..._ Or at the very least, to set up a vid-call so I can get this man battle-ready again."

_"Message away."_ Said the AI, _"Is there anything else?"_ It asked.

"Run a sterilization field through this room every fifteen minutes on the dot. We don't know if whatever he's got is airborne." The surgeon ordered, "And have the other N7 gotten to Quarantine, yet?"

_"Yes, Doctor. They are awaiting the medical examination."_

"Contact Doctor Schmidt, give him our findings so far, and tell him to do a thorough medical scan, as well as get a few blood samples. If we find this... Unknown Element, in any of their bloodstreams, they are to be quarantined until we can speak with a Quarian." He said.

_"Understood."_

_"Wait!"_ A thought suddenly occurred to the Surgeon. Thousands of the Turian ships had exploded in the Home System, hundreds on Earth, or in it's atmosphere or obit. That meant that this Unknown Element could have potentially contaminated the entire Earthen biosphere, and if what the N7 was going through was any indication, the Surgeon suddenly realized that they may be dealing with the preamble to an epidemic.

_"Doctor?"_

"Send the comparison data on the Unknown Element to every AI connected to the Earthen-network, and get them transferred to every hospital on the planet. We need anyone complaining of unexplainable burning or itching feelings to be transported to a hospital and quarantined immediately. As well, any soldiers still in the hospital, are to have blood samples taken. Any who've been exposed to the Element need to be quarantined." He ordered.

_"Doctor, you may have clearance to order the quarantine of a single squad of N7, but ordering the Quarantine of possible millions of soldiers and civilians is something you cannot do."_ The AI advised.

"Then connect me to the Surgeon General of the Alliance, if _this -_" He pointed to the man, whose burns were slowly beginning to dim " - Happens to everyone on Earth, and possibly even Eden, then we may be crippled and vulnerable to further alien attack! I _will_ remind you that we are at war!" He declared.

* * *

_"Mister McGraw..."_ Began the synthetic voice.

_"NO!"_ Shouted Christopher McGraw, as he leapt from his bed and onto his feet. In a flash, his cybernetic arm was grabbed and attached to it's port. He went out into his recently cleaned living room, and grabbed the biggest, sturdiest chair he could find. He went to his door and without even checking to see who was there, locked the deadbolt, and shoved the chair under the doorknob, blocking the door from any sort of movement.

_"Mister McGraw, the people outside -"_

"Mute." Commanded McGraw.

Almost immediately after the word left his throat, a holographic message appeared and began writing itself, now functional thanks to the recently repaired V-Home.

_Mister McGraw,_ it wrote, _The people outside were sent by -_

"Deactivate!" He ordered, the message disappeared, "V-Home, shut everything down except the damn alarm clock! I don't want to be talked to until noon _tomorrow!"_ He shouted, before he almost ripped off the cybernetic limb, tossed it into a corner, and flopped down on his bed.

It took a few minutes, before his personal, physical phone went off. McGraw was very visibly annoyed, _"Fuck!"_ He shouted, _"Fuck you, Phone! Fuck you, Government! Fuck you, Universe! Fuck everything! You don't need my help for every little fucking thing -"_ He stalked over and grabbed the phone " - If it can't be solved with the might of the Alliance Military, Anti-matter _something_, or Big Fucking Bombs from Hell, _bother my Dad!"_ He hurled the phone at the wall, it shattered upon impact.

"Next person who interrupts my sleep schedule is getting _bitch slapped by a robot limb!" _He bellowed, before flopping down upon his bed once again, the last thoughts that ran through his mind before sleep finally claimed him were of how fast he could get the deceptively heavy cybernetic limb going, without him suffering some sort of skeletal/muscular damage.

* * *

"Good evening, and welcome to Alliance News Now. I'm your host, Alicia Al-Jilani." Said the Human hostess, after she was given the 'OK' that she was on air. "Yesterday, Alliance forces were sent to the alien's capital station, the 'Citadel', in an attempt to broker peace. The 'Citadel Council', simply put, refused to see such an option, and attempted to open fire upon the N7 Operatives guarding Quarian Admiral Sri'Zoran. However, thanks to a timely distraction by Humanity's first AI, Nikola, the N7 were able to have the split-second they needed to prepare and fight the Council's operatives. Luckily, all Alliance forces were successfully extracted, with only one significant injury being reported." She explained. "Just an hour ago, Alliance Director of Affairs, Jason Whyte, declared that the attack upon the Alliance Peace Delegation was a declaration of the continuation of war, which, as he reminded us, the Citadel Council began, by firing upon the Earth. Alliance naval vessels are currently being dry-docked and restocked with top-of-the-line weapons and armor, as well as Christopher McGraw's newest creations, the Energy Barrier, and the Particle Beam." She paused, "With me, I have a delegate from the Alliance Department of Extraterrestrial Affairs." She nodded, as the cameras zoomed out.

"Thank you." The man nodded, as his pseudonym, 'John Locke', appeared on the screens of the viewers at home.

"Now, mister... Locke, was it?" The man nodded, "How do you expect the counter invasion to go?" The woman asked, "The Citadel Council has to have their respective tails between their legs, at the humiliating defeat at Earth. Surely they are pulling out the stops to protect the most key of targets, yes?"

"Well, miss Al-Jilani, one thing you must remember is that the Citadel Council, and I say this with no ill will to non-human viewers... Are Aliens. Some, like the 'Asari', may _look_ like us, but the simple fact that they are not _Human_ means that they do not _think _like us." Locke said, "So, yes, it would make the most sense for them to shore up their most important targets... One fact remains above all, we _humiliated_ the face of an empire that spans the _Galaxy."_ He said, "Our own history alone shows that when people are humiliated, they can do very stupid, rash things." He explained.

"What do you expect them to do, then?" Al-Jilani asked.

"Simply put, I expect them to wait. What happened at their capital yesterday, only further proved how weak at the base this Citadel Council is. I expect the Council to wait for us to make the next move. From the video files - _classified,_ video files - we retrieved from the Peace Meeting, and the - again, _classified -_ data files we received from the Alien Internet, the Council has never been dealt a blow like this for millennia." Locke explained.

"How long?" Asked the woman, not sure she heard the man right.

"Think of it this way... We started out historical age, as they _left_ an era defined by centuries of war. From what we know, since then, they have not _once_ experienced a war as devastating as what they call the 'Rachni Wars', and the 'Krogan Rebellions'." Locked answered.

"So... You think that because it's been so long since the Council has participated in a war, that our victory is guaranteed?" She asked.

Locke shook his head, "It's not that simple." He said, "One does not maintain the appearance of power, without actually _having_ that power." He stated. "I like to think of it like this... The Council is a Military Superpower. The Alliance is a third-world country going up against it."

"But, we pushed the aliens _off_ of Earth. Shouldn't that say something about our military standing?" Al-Jilani asked.

"It does." Jason nodded, "We pushed off _one faction_ of the Council. From all reports and recovered data, they've nearly a _dozen_ species, not including the 'big three', under their belt. That means _billions_... Possibly even _trillions_ of soldiers ready to take up arms and fight against us. This is why we cannot fight the entire Council and hope to win."

The woman looked confused, "So you expect us to lose?"

"Against the entire Council? Victory would be uncertain for both sides. If we won, we would more than likely be blasted back so far in terms of population, that we would once again be stuck on Earth for a few more centuries. If they won, they would have lost so many ships and soldiers, that the victory would be spiritual at best." He said, "However... It wasn't the _entire Council_ that attacked us, Miss Al-Jilani. It was one specific faction that attacked us and bombed the Earth. It was the 'Turian Hierarchy'."

Al-Jilani began nodding, she looked as if she understood what he was getting at. "Exactly." He said, "If we were to go up against the _Turians_, victory would be much more certain. We've already shown that we can overpower them with the Earth Invasion, now we plan to overpower them in _their_ territory. This would almost literally _force_ the Citadel Council to see us as a valid military power, and would _force_ them to sit down and hash out terms and conditions for, if anything, a temporary armistice." He explained, "And if anything, it shows the Council that ours is a wise species, and a forgiving one." He said.

"How so?"

"Any other Governmental body, would attack the group as a whole, after being attacked by one of their members. We will attack only one, and in retaliation, no less." Locke continued, "This will show the Council that we know enough to specifically target those who've wounded us. And that we can attack whom_ever_ harms our people, with devastating consequences." He said.

"I see..." Said Al-Jilani, "Would you happen to be able to tell the viewers at home to what extent our forces will attack the Turians?" She inquired.

John smiled, "In World War 2, when the Americans engaged the Japanese forces, they did so with such swiftness and such brutality, that they broke the Japanese's hold on much of the world, but not their will to fight. While preparing for an invasion of Japan proper, they realized that doing so would cause far more casualties than... other... options."

"Other?"

"The Americans saw that the Japanese would fight to the _very last man_, if they didn't have their respective backs broken, and their will shattered. So they dropped two atomic weapons, their most powerful weapons in existence, at that point, to prove to the Japanese that they held the power to remove Japan and its territories from the face of the Earth. After the second bombing, the Japanese - their backs broken and their will shattered - surrendered."

"Are you saying - "

"Think of the Turians as the Japanese, in this scenario. They are obviously a proud race, and from what we've learned from the Quarians and from the Alien Internet, they are a very military-oriented species. So much so that an invasion in the scale that they attempted with us, would only enrage them and strengthen their will. So we must apply shock-and-awe tactics, to attempt to break their backs, and shatter their will." Locke explained.

"How do we plan on doing that?" She asked.

Locke smiled again, "I'm afraid I can't say... Not at this moment, at least."

* * *

Jorgal Kine stumbled into his condo, in the Citadel Foundations. He'd been 'upstairs' on the wards looting for hours. The C-Sec idiots hadn't thought once of coming down to the Foundations to get the technology that had been shielded by the Alien EMP. Kine had been smart though, waving a shotgun around in an environment where those were a precious commodity would have been utterly stupid, so not only did he keep to the emptier part of the wards, but he relied upon his ancestor's war hammer to make his point.

Kine smiled, as he looked upon the hammer he'd set in the corner. It was a weapon _fit_ for a Battlemaster, such as he. It had seen so much warfare, and had drank so much blood, that Kine had been truly impressed that it wasn't permanently stained red. His father had given him that weapon, and his father's father had given it to him, and so forth. It had served his family faithfully for generations, and would always continue to do - -

_Sniff!_

He smelled them first.

Odd smelling creatures, five, he assumed. They smelled... Different. Perhaps they were Vorcha? He'd always thought they'd smelled dumb, and disgusting. The next indication that he wasn't alone in his condo was the familiar sensation of shifting plates, alerting him that _something_ was off.

Kine couldn't tell exactly where the intruders were, but they were either hiding in the shadows with Tactical Cloaks, or they were hiding in places that could fit them and fail to shield their scent. Kine smiled, he went to the corner of the room and hefted the hammer into his hands.

"I'll give you _one_ chance... Intruders. Come out... **Now!"** He roared, his naturally deep voice filling the entire condo, "And your deaths will be quick."

Silence. No movement. A sigh, coming from the Krogan.

"So be it." He said, before he uttered the loudest of battle cries he could muster, and slammed the hammer into the ground. The explosion of force shook the entire building, dust fell from the un-cleaned walls, un-swept floors, and dusty ceilings. In the corner of this very room, he saw that dust halt in mid-air, before it quickly crafted the outline of an armored figure.

_"DEAD!"_ Roared Kine, as he propelled himself forward and made to slam his hammer into the figure. The figure moved fast, too fast, Kine realized, for the massive Krogan to correct his momentum and make another swing. The hammer slammed into the wall, and burst through it, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

_"Squad, we've been exposed! Engage, engage, engage!"_ Kine heard someone shout, in a language his translator couldn't pick up.

Kine swung around in a circle, and he managed to hit the intruder with the wild strike. He felt ecstatic as he felt the explosive blast of air congratulate the hammer blow, but his victory was short lived, when he saw that the figure had _caught_ the Hammer, and had only suffered from some degree of damaged armor. The intruder screamed with the effort to steal the hammer from the Krogan. Kine, obviously not expecting some puny Asari-looking to have the strength required to wield _his_ war hammer, wasn't expecting her to _steal_ it. The Asari proceeded to take the hammer by the hilt, and slam it into the Krogan, sending Kine flying into his wall. The Asari tossed the hammer off into a corner, the concussive blast the hammer quickly made afterwards buried it in rubble.

Kine got to his feet quickly, but was almost immediately surrounded by five Asari looking intruders, wearing armor that completely covered their bodies.

He chuckled, "Oh... The little Asari mercenaries think they can take on a Krogan?" He asked, as he began to glow with blue fire, "Too bad... _I'M A BIOTIC TOO!"_ He roared, sending a shockwave in all directions. Some of the Asari slammed into the wall, some attempted to dodge the wave only to be slammed into the ceiling. The one with the dented armor, however, did something Kine hadn't thought possible.

She ran directly at the shockwave, and managed to pick up so much speed and momentum, in just a short distance, that she had managed to cancel out the Biotic wave's effects, and continue directly at the Krogan. The massive Krogan didn't have much time to react, before the Asari tackled him into the ground, and pulled out a knife. The Asari quickly began repeatedly stabbing the Krogan, some blows came to his chest, one came to his arm, and one came dangerously close to _that_ area of his plates.

The sudden, split-second fear of losing his plates made Kine angry. Adrenaline began pumping through his systems at a much more rapid rate, which increased his hearts-beats, which increased the blood flow to his injuries, which increased his blood loss.

Which sent him into a blood _rage_.

With a blood curdling roar, the Biotic Krogan slammed his fists into the Asari's head. The fists were deflected by the Asari's barrier, which flared a golden orange, for some reason, but it still managed to send the Asari off the Krogan's chest.

"Usually I'd _enjoy_ having an Asari sit on me!" He shouted, as he leapt to his feet, he saw the dazed Asari in the corner, recovering from what he assumed to be head trauma. "Now... _It's pissing me off!"_

He made it two steps before he smelled something new, it smelled... Explosive. Kine whipped around, and saw the other Asari holding strange guns, which quickly erupted into screams of gunfire, the bullets were stopped for a few moments by his biotic barriers, but when they were overwhelmed, they passed straight through his shields, and slammed into his armor.

The Asari's guns overheated a few moments later - oddly enough, with no auditory warnings - and as they made attempts to cool them down, Kine roared his loudest. He was angry, and the Asari _knew._ He charged forth, like a raging Varren, but was stopped when something tripped up his feet. Kine slammed into the ground, face first, he felt his plates crack with the impact, and then he felt himself twisted around. The _damned_ Asari with her _damned_ dented armor was standing above him, wielding a peculiar weapon that one of her allies had tossed her. Kine expected her to say some sort of remark, a one-liner that the Asari seemed to be fond of, but no, he received no such pleasantries. He was shot in the face, and he died not a moment later.

* * *

"Jane... Get pictures of the body. This is a new alien." Said John S-1, as he panted. This had been a physically exerting fight, one he hadn't had since he'd been in the inter-platoon SIGMA Melee Tournament. This alien was a tough one, it looked toad-like, but had the ferocity of a bull, mixed with a pissed off Rhinoceros.

"Yes sir." Said Jane Doe-S2, as she pulled out a small camera, she flashed off a few quick pictures of the bullet ridden corpse.

"Audio notes:..." Said John, queuing up audio descriptions and foot-notes for the pictures Jane was taking, "Alien subject is _extremely_ violent and aggressive. Thick hide, strong bones..." John shook his head, he knew his skull was cracked, which surprised him, barely anything, short of a _big_ bomb blast, or another fully trained SIGMA Operative, could fracture or break an augmented SIGMA Bone, "Strong_er_ muscles... And some sort of... Magical ability that seems to either ignore, override, or counteract our shields. Recommend _specialized_ training for countering these..." He made a quick, split-second decision as to a name, "Tank Walkers." He said, before he removed his helmet for a moment to rub his aching skull, "And look into stronger bone augmentations to counter monster strength." He said, before he cut off the audio sensors and distanced himself from the pain.

"Want something for the pain, S1?" Asked another SIGMA.

"No." Said John, as he replaced his helmet, "Cell Fluid would be useless, it's a cracked bone, not a flesh wound. Besides, that stuff loses effectiveness over time. So even if I was cut, after an hour or so it wouldn't matter." He said, "When we get back to Human Territory, I'll have someone look at it. For now, I'll rely upon my helmet to set the bone. " He said, he could already feel his suit's internal bio-medical scanners responding to the injury, and placing just the slightest bit more pressure on the front of his head, where the fracture was.

"Alright... So what do we do with him?" The SIGMA pointed to the Tank Walker.

"When we go to check on Severance Package, we toss him into the void." John said, "Until then, get comfortable. This is home base. Jane, when you're done, I want motion trackers on the perimeter. Ducard, I want cameras giving us full degrees of vision. Jess, over watch. Jules, you work on cracking into the alien information network. Use the translators we took from those Quarian engineers last week and get us what you can find. The station above should be getting power back soon, I'd assume, so try and get a progress report and an ETA. Understood?" John looked around, everyone gave a quick 'Yes Sir!', and then went to their duties.

* * *

"I can't _believe _it... I'd heard the Humans had destroyed the Turians' first and second fleets... But have you heard the latest?" Asked an Asari of her bond-mate, as the two enjoyed the warm Thessian afternoon.

"No, what?"

"The Humans attacked the _Citadel!"_ The Asari said, obviously giddy to get it out.

The Turian woman spilled some of her tea, "You're kidding me?" She asked, as she sopped up some of the tea from her mouth, a look from her bond-mate told her that she wasn't, _"Truly?!"_ The Turian demanded, "How is this possible?" She asked, now regretting the few days she'd spent on the 'Nature Retreat' with her old friends. She'd obviously missed a lot.

"I do not know, apparently the Humans simply, _appeared_... Before the Citadel went dark, there were many rumors, some say that they used hyper-advanced Prothean travel technology to replicate a Relay Transit, without a Relay, and some others said that they'd simply used stealth technology to remain undetected until they wished." The Asari explained.

"The Citadel has gone dark?" The Turian asked.

"Yes." The Asari nodded, grimly, "I remember hearing something about the Humans finally detonating bombs, and launching missis, but after that the Citadel Communications Grid went dark. My aunt in the Galactic News is trying to get passage, but the Citadel Navy is disallowing any relay traffic into our out from the Citadel until they've restored power." She explained.

"Spirits... How can there be a species with power, such that they can disable the _Citadel?"_ The Turian wondered.

"There are... Some rumors... Floating around the Extra Net." Said the Asari.

"Oh?"

"Some believe that, because the Humans have such different technology, and such military power, that they may be sitting upon an enormous cache or vault of Prothean Technology. Others believe that the Humans are the Protheans _themselves_, or at least, the Prothean's chosen successors."

"That's _insane!"_ The Turian declared, outraged.

"Yes, but the debaters have raised some fairly interesting points." Said the Asari, "One, for instance, said that the only species that has ever done so much damage to the Council was the Krogan and the Rachni. The latter, there is reason to believe that the Protheans had fought before, the former, that the Protheans had at least watched them." She said, "This is relevant, because those two had _our_ level technology. The Humans seem to have technology that far surpasses our own... They literally appeared and disappeared in Citadel Space without any warning, only _one_ thing in our Galaxy can do something like that, in our Galaxy."

"Mass Relays..." The Turian realized.

"And who made those?"

"Protheans."

"Precisely. If the Humans can replicate the same effects as the mass free tunnel, who is to say that they _aren't_ the Protheans, or their chosen successor?" The Asari inquired.

"True, but why would they _need_ to choose a successor? That implies a sort of extinction event... And now we've come full circle, to the day we met..." The Turian paused, "What happened _to _the Protheans?"

The Asari smiled, "Sila, this is why I love you so. You ask the questions no one wish to answer." She said, a slight chuckle issuing from her lungs.

The Turian, Sila, gave the Asari a Turian smile, "That's how we bonded, is it not?" She teased.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N:_

_It has come to my attention that I've been very lax with my Codex entries lately. So the end of this chapter will be my 'Catch-Up' chapter for the Codex Entries I feel are important enough to be added in._

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

_~Date Restricted~  
~Time Restricted~  
~Location Restricted~_

* * *

"Alright... Send in a prisoner." Said Jason McGraw, as he straightened out his overcoat and finished putting on his rubber gloves.

A few moments passed, and as Jason heard the sounds of a scuffle, he sighed, the _last_ one had fought, he silently hoped that this one wouldn't fight as long. The door was thrown open by one of the Alliance Marines, and they brought the struggling Turian soldier inside. This one had the markings of an Officer, they'd been able to identify them thanks to the information stolen from the Citadel. He was violently thrown into the chair in the center of the room, and it took the combined effort of six Alliance Marines to keep him still long enough to shackle his hands and feet to the ground.

"Thank you, gentlemen. I shall call you if I need further assistance." Said Jason, with a nod, as he straightened his glasses. The marines filed out of the room, leaving McGraw and the Turian alone.

"Good day, Mister Turian." Said Jason, as he sat down on his own chair, the Turian struggled to break out of the shackles, McGraw noticed, "You can stop right there, sir." He said, "Those are specifically designed shackles, made of adamantine, the same metals we'd discovered on a _Human_ planet, and now use to protect _Human_ ships. Nothing short of chopping your hands and feet off will free you of those shackles, unless we unlock them." He explained.

The Turian scowled, or at least, McGraw assumed he scowled, his two mandibles pressed tightly against his face for a moment, and his eyes squinted. "You emphasize the word 'Human' as if it is more important. Why?" He demanded.

McGraw clicked his tongue, "In our society, it is proper manners to introduce yourself, before you make demands of a person. You can call me Doctor McGraw, or simply, Doctor." He instructed the Turian.

The Turian's scowl deepened, "Lieutenant Siir Fio, Turian First Strike Ground Troopers."

"So you _are_ an officer." Said McGraw, "Good." He said, "To answer your earlier question, I emphasize the word 'Human' because it was your people who attempted to stamp us out and end our way of life." He explained, "Had it been not for our technological differences, the chance exists that you would have succeeded. But, alas, you did not, and now you are here... Along with thousands of your brethren."

"What do you want from me, Human?" Asked the Turian, "No information you gain from me will be at all useful. As I speak the entirety of the Citadel Council is no doubt gearing up to do exactly what you thought we were doing."

McGraw shook his head, "An interesting fact about Humanity is that we will never give up. You could enslave us for a thousand years, but for that entire thousand years, we would make our 'Masters'' lives living hells. Because we can be ruled by no one but ourselves. We can be destroyed by no one but ourselves. But... We are unable to destroy ourselves. Why? Because we are stubborn creatures. Even in the face of adversity, we will fight to our dying breath for the right _to_ die, but on our terms. Your... Council? They can try to destroy us... They may succeed in destroying the Systems Alliance!" He said, "But Humanity? Our nature? Our spirit? They can never destroy. And if they attempted to do so, they would find out how brutal we can _truly_ be." He said, before he jammed a needle full of some glowing orange liquid into the Turian's neck, and emptied it into his system.

_"Argh!"_ The Turian shouted, more out of surprise, than pain, "What was that?! What did you just do!?" He demanded, only half wondering how the Human knew _exactly_ where to place the needle.

"Nano-technology has been a fascination of mine, for my entire life. It is the reason my son is so important to our race, and it is the reason you will answer any question I ask." McGraw explained, "Otherwise..." He pulled out a small device, and pointed at it, "I press this button, and the machines that are currently coursing through your veins and constantly multiplying, will begin to shred everything they come across. Literally tearing you apart from the inside out, until there is nothing left but a sack of skin... Or... in your case... plates." He explained, "I've heard it is quite a painful experience." He looked at the ground at the Turian's feet, where dried blue blood could be seen. "Some would say what I can do to you, would be a Human Rights violation..." He smiled, and looked at the Turian dead in the eye, _"But you aren't Human... Are you?"_ He whispered, just audibly enough so the Turian would hear.

"The Council will not stand for this!" The Turian shouted, "You will stand trial!"

"You see... They will not know. Because this? This base? No one but the highest Alliance Officials know about it. We will tell everyone that we brought you to some cold place... Probably Greenland... But... Well, we are far from it. And farther still, below it. No one knows you are here, and no one knows what I shall do to you if you refuse to cooperate." He stated.

The Turian hid his shock well, this Human wasn't bluffing! He could see it in the Human's eyes, he meant every threat he'd made.

The Turian's silence beckoned McGraw to continue, "Now... The first question would be the most obvious, who is the first and second most powerful Turian on Palaven?" He asked.

"I will not tell you anything." Stated the Turian.

McGraw sighed, "I'd assumed as much." He said, he clapped his hands together twice, and suddenly a hologram appeared in the air, showing a video stream from some other room in the base. "Activate Nano machines in all four, please." He instructed, and almost immediately the silent video showed the Turians as they began writhing on the ground, their insides being shredded and eaten by the Nano-machines that had been inserted into them earlier.

The Turian's eyes widened, the Human was torturing _others_ because _he_ didn't answer a question!

"I know what you are thinking... 'Why not me?'... Well, mister Fio... It is because you have information I _want_." He stated, "Now... I shall ask again. If you answer me, truthfully, because I shall know if you are lying, I shall give the order to inject a fast-acting poison into your allies. Their deaths will go from arduously slow and painful, to quick and painless." He paused, "Who are the first and second most important Turians on your homeworld?"

* * *

November 7th, 2201:

_On Earth, all alien enemy combatants are successfully captured and placed in Prisoner of War camps in Greenland. (It was learned that Turian forces were highly susceptible to cold temperatures and water, so they are kept in an insulated structure, that is right in the middle of a near constant blizzard, to keep them from trying any break-out attempts) Turians are treated decently well, with Dextro-food being provided primarily from the Quarians, and security from the Humans._

November 8th, 2201:

_Doctors and surgeons all over Earth begin compulsory scans for traces of 'Element Unknown' in soldier and civilian blood. It is found that the primary warzones, such as DC, Moscow, England, and Japan, all have high concentrations of civilians exposed to 'EU'. (Formal name yet to come). Quarian doctors advise Human doctors that the civilians and soldiers with the highest concentrations must be quarantined for three days, at least, as 'Element Zero' exposure can lead to horrible conclusions. ("Element Zero exposure was common place in the last days of the fleet... Those with the highest concentrations in their blood should be quarantined and scanned for cancers, tumors, etc." Said the chief Quarian medical officer.)_

_A grand total of one and a half million soldiers and civilians are quarantined, with an eighth of those numbers already experiencing 'Eezo sickness', not dissimilar to the side effects experienced by the N7 Operative who'd brought this to the world's attention._

November 9th 2201:

_Power is slowly restored to the Citadel. Omni-tool translators and non-lethal weapons are given to C-Sec operatives to better quell the riots and dangers faced by the Citadel._

_The Alliance Summer Fleet begins consolidating its losses, in preparation for the counter-attack on Palaven. It is estimated that, of the ships crippled in battle, only a fourth are salvageable enough to be repaired within the month and sent back into duty. _

_The Quarian Navy is unofficially assimilated into the Alliance Navy, and is to be a primary fighting force in the attack on Palaven._

November 10th, 2201:

_Christopher McGraw resumes work on outfitting Human ships with anti-matter particle beams, and energy shields. _

_Casualty reports from New York come in, after several hours of a near vertical climb, the numbers level out around 9 million, but are still climbing._

November 13th, 2201:

_The _Beautiful Annihilation_ is revealed to the masses, as the single most advanced ship in the Human Arsenal. Morale in the Alliance Navy is lifted immensely._

_The United Nations puts forth the idea for the creation of an 'Alliance Army', in essence, the creation of a primarily planet-side force of Human soldiers, with Alliance-grade military tech. This way time won't be lost waiting for Marines to be deployed. Idea to be debated following the conclusion of the Second Contact War, or the end of the Palaven Invasion._

November 14th, 2201:

_First recorded deaths as a result from 'Element Zero Sickness'. _

_Jason McGraw and the AATF called upon to investigate Biotics and Element Zero exposure._

_On a hunch, Christopher McGraw travels to the Prothean Ruins on Mars, looking for signs of Element Zero. Evidence found thereafter suggests that the Ruins at once house_ massive_ stores and vaults of Element Zero, but were removed whenever the Ruins were evacuated. McGraw publically asks a Quarian Admiral what happened to the Protheans, the Admiral responded with genuine confusion, as she - and the rest of the Galaxy at large - didn't know._

November 16th, 2201:

_The Final Tuning Gates are removed from Human Territory. A second set of 'Primary' gates have been located and transported to the 'Neutral Zone'. 'Relay Railroad' construction to be underway within the next day._

_Power completely restored to Citadel, reparation efforts begin in earnest. Reports of radiation from the Foundations begin to arise, but is accredited to leftover Electro Magnetic radiation from the EMP._

_Citadel Council formally declares war upon the Human Systems Alliance._

November 18th, 2201:

_More casualties resulting from 'Eezo Sickness', the Center for Disease Control calls it a global - and perhaps, _inter_-global pandemic, and previous efforts to decontaminate warzones are increased three fold._

_Terraforming Disks deployed all over the Earth to remove all Element Zero from the Earthen biosphere, this marks the first time TD's have been used since the accidental nuclear detonation in 2101. Within the week, the Earthen Biosphere is as clean as it was before the industrial revolution. Quarian Engineers are, simply put, amazed at the level of technological advancement the Humans displayed with this act alone._

_Due to the previous incident above Eden, when a Quarian ship severely malfunctioned and 'spilled' dust-form Element Zero above a heavily populated continent on Eden, Terraforming Disks are deployed there as well, to remove any possibility of accidental Human Eezo exposure. Compulsory tests are performed at Eden to make sure no one is found with Eezo concentrations as high as that found upon Earth._

_It is noted by Jason McGraw that, among the millions - possibly billions - exposed to Element Zero, untold tens or hundreds of millions may not suffer from any effects. As well, he raises the question of what would happen to unborn children, exposed to Element Zero in the womb._

November 20th, 2201:

_Council Efforts to send in satellites, probes, and drones into Human Territory are met with a startling failure when it is realized that there are _no_ Mass Relays leading into Human Space. Turian military sources refute this, as they'd used the Relay network specifically to enter Human Territory. Many cower in fear of the idea that Humans are advanced enough to remove or destroy Mass Relays._

_Alliance Flagships are loaded up with varying degrees of Nuclear Armaments, in preparation for the Palaven Counter-Invasion._

_'Relay Railroad' is completed._

_More casualties from previous Eezo exposure come, but are slowing down considerably, after the deployment of the Terraforming Disks._

_The last of the Human 'High Class' ships (Flagships, Dreadnoughts, Space-Craft Carriers) are successfully outfitted with Energy shields and AMPB's. McGraw takes a day's break before working on the 'lower' ships. (Frigates, Destroyers.)_

_Infantry-based Energy Shielding very quickly becomes standard for Alliance Forces._

_SIGMA Casualty reports come in. Total numbers classified top secret. (In an effort to further raise morale, the Alliance publically proclaims that none, in fact, died at all.)_

November 22nd, 2201:

_TITAN Forces begin transferring onto the Alliance Navy's vessels, in preparation for the Palaven Invasion. _

_The highest class of Quarian Ships [Dreadnought sized vessels, most modern ships, Admiral Vessels] are given a 'spit shine' by Alliance Engineers, and have completed outfitting with Energy Shields, and AMPB's._

**_[Top Secret: Planet Destroying Nuclear Armaments loaded upon Alliance Flagship: Luna's Presence]_**

_Alliance Forces begin mass transportation to Naval Vessels in preparation for Palaven Counter Attack._

_Using 'Kehlish' as a base language, the AATF successfully completes a translator for the Turian Language, and distributes it throughout the Alliance Navy._

November 24th, 2201:

_Half of the remaining Summer Fleet, and the entirety of the Quarian Navy, begin transit through the 'Relay Railroad'._

_SIGMA Alpha Team begins preparation for the final steps of Operation: INSURANCE_

November 25th, 2201:

_More reports of Radiation from the Citadel Foundations. C-Sec operatives and one SPECTRE to be deployed the next day._

November 26th, 2201:

_Alliance Summer and Quarian Fleet finishes Transit through the 'Relay Railroad'. The entirety lies a few light days outside of Turian Home-Space, well outside scanning range._

* * *

November 27th, 2201

* * *

"We _must_ discuss the issue of the Humans." Said Asari Councilor Tevos, after her subordinates, Eistan and Sparatus, sat down at the large round table, that lay in the Council Chambers on the Citadel Presidium.

"All we've been able to learn from them, locational wise, is that at least _one_ of their planets resides within the Attican Traverse... Here." Eistan pointed to a Galaxy Map, with one specific location highlighted, "Before the nano-machines stopped reporting in, a few of them managed to attach to the Human satellite network, but because of the presence of Artificial Intelligences... It is much more difficult than previously thought, to gain any good intelligence."

"Why can't the machines hack into Human networks?" Demanded Sparatus.

"Simply put, they are too stupid, when pitted against the Human AI's. If they even tried, they would be caught instantly and eradicated."

"So we do not know what the Humans are planning to do? After so many weeks of silence, you would thing that they would be planning _something..."_ Said Tevos.

* * *

_"Entering warp-space, Captain."_ Declared the _Beautiful Annihilation's_ AI, Phil.

"What of the Migrant Fleet?" Asked Captain Jeffrey McGrath, as he stood at the helm of the _Beautiful Annihilation_, the single strongest ship to have been ever made by Human hands.

_"They're moving according to plan. They are using FTL to travel as close to the Turian Relay as possible, and then exit to make it appear like they are arriving via the relay." _The AI reported.

"And the Removal Teams?"

_"Once we initiate the attack, and give them the space they need, they should be able to 'seal off' the system in about two to four hours."_

"Good."

* * *

"Ever since the brunt of the Asari/Salarian/Turian fleets assembled at the Citadel, there's no possible way we should fear the Humans." Insisted the Turian Councilor.

"You say that, forgetting that the Humans managed to make a _Dreadnought sized_ vessel appear miraculously in our system, and then proceed to destroy a Turian Dreadnought with a single shot." Said Tevos.

"Well... The fact remains, we still outnumber them, vastly. On Earth, it was just two fleets against the Humans. Now it's _every_ fleet against them. We will win this time." Sparatus assured her.

"I... Do not think so." Said Eistan.

"What?"

"As to our power? There is no possible way to predict who will win. Human technology is an unknown factor here. Simply put, we are more advanced than them in some areas, and they are more advanced than us in others." He paused, "I believe however… Given the time it's taken for action to be taken… We may have made a mistake." He added, guiltily.

"What?!" Demanded Sparatus.

"We may have made a mistake." Repeated the Salarian, "Shoring up the Citadel's defenses may have been both a good idea, and a bad one. If this species has access to your fleet's archives, codices, and navigational data, they will have learned a great many things." The Councilor began, "Not counting the meeting with the Quarian ambassador, First, and foremost, they would have learned that it was _not_ the entire Citadel Council that attacked them, just the Turians. So to deal a retaliatory blow, they would need to strike a target of extreme importance."

"Yes, the Citadel." Stated Sparatus.

"I do not think they will be attacking the Citadel." Eistan stated, plainly, "If they are smart enough to achieve space-flight, and survive their own nuclear holocaust, then they _will_ realize that they need not make an enemy of the entire Citadel Council, instead attack those who hurt them, in a retaliatory strike."

"But, attacking the… Citadel… Spirits…" The Turian Councilor realized what the Salarian was alluding to.

* * *

"Arriving at Palaven, sir."

_"Exiting warp-space."_

" 'Autumn Fleet' is rapidly appearing behind us, Captain. All ships reporting ready for battle."

"Hail the Turian Fleet, make sure the translators are functioning." Ordered McGrath.

Several minutes passed, before, _"Unidentified ship, you are entering Turian space held under Martial Law, identify yourself or be destroyed."_

"A lot more harsh than we were." Muttered the Captain, "Turian fleet, this is the Human Systems Alliance Navy." He announced, "This is not a threat, this is not a bluff, and this is not a hostage situation. This is a courtesy call. You have sixty seconds to prepare for war." The captain stated, with a calm tone that betrayed his nervousness at the situation.

"The Turian Fleet is amassing around the planet's primary moon, sir. I count seven thousand ships." Reported a crewman.

"Don't break formation. Fire on _my_ command. All Dreadnoughts and Flagships are to charge their anti-matter weapons." Ordered the captain.

The captain silently thanked his God that he'd tested the Antimatter Particle Beam at the Citadel, otherwise he would have been praying that it would work. He was silently angry that McGraw had been unable to give _every _ship particle beams and energy shields, instead prioritizing the upper-class Dreadnoughts, Carriers and Flagships.

As the Alliance fleet soared across the void, the ship's AI, reported in, _"Captain, they've got dozens of communications satellites all around the system. I'm accessing them and retrieving everything I can, once I've got it all, I'll shut down all Turian communications coming in and out of the system."_ It said.

"Good." Said Captain McGrath, as the fleet edged closer and closer to the Turian armada.

For some reason, Jeffrey couldn't help but think that something was wrong with this picture. The Turian fleets that had attacked Earth were at _least_ four times as big as this one. There were over twenty _thousand_ ships attacking Earth, and despite the fifty thousand the Alliance would have, the Turians only appropriated seven thousand to defend their _homeworld?_ For McGrath, something didn't add up.

_Did we truly decimate their entire navy, with the counter-attack?_ He wondered, _Or did they send everything they had to protect that Citadel? How important a target _is_ the Citadel?_ The captain wondered.

"Sir! Enemy fleet is opening fire!"

"All ships, fire the first volley."

"Captain! Quarian ships exiting FTL!"

* * *

"Councilors, you _need_ to redeploy ships to Palaven! Immediately!" Insisted Sparatus, desperation and rage could easily be discerned solely from his tone.

"Councilor Sparatus, please calm yourself." Requested Tevos, only to be cut off by Sparatus.

_"I will not!"_ He declared, "We need to bring _everything_ we have to destroy these humans! Lest they destroy _us_!"

"Sparatus. Silence yourself." Commanded Eistan, "We _know_ how dire this situation is. We _know_ we are at war. However we must keep the safety of the Citadel in mind... So I believe it would be fair to send the remainder of the Turian fleets back to Palaven, half of the Asari ships, and an eighth of the Salarian ships." He said, "Despite how you started this, you are not in this alone." He stated.

At once, five aliens appeared in the room, all disengaging the tactical cloaks that had masked them from detection for so long. The Council's Spectre Agents attempted to resist the aliens, but the seven foot tall monsters responded by killing the elite agents with horrifying efficiency. Guns were quickly pressed against the Asari and Turian's heads as well, all three Councilors remained silent, and still.

One alien grabbed the back of Sparatus' head and yanked backwards. Sparatus found himself staring into the eyes of the alien's odd helmet, before it spoke in a language his translator didn't pick up.

_"Target acquired. Prep for extraction."_

"Who are you?" Asked Tevos, calmly, she kept her hands on the table to show that she was unarmed.

The aliens regarded her for a moment. An audible 'click' could be heard, before their words were spoken in a language that the Council's translators picked up as Kehlish.

"Insurance." Said one soldier, before his allies slammed the butts of their rifles into the heads of the councilors.

"HVI secure, sir."

"You've got the Asari Language downloaded?" Asked the squad's leader.

"Yes sir."

"Then translate the message and relay it on all open channels. Rourke, have you gotten in?"

_"Yes, Lieutenant. All communications from 'Asari' homeworld 'Thessia' have ceased."_

"Send the message, make sure I can hear it." The Lieutenant smiled, as the forged Asari message was relayed.

_"All Council fleets. Thessia has come under attack by an enemy unknown, with overwhelming numbers. As of this moment, all Council ships are immediately ordered to move to Thessia with the utmost urgency, and assist the Asari Fleets."_ Said a synthesized version of the Asari's voice.

Several moments passed, for a second, John thought the aliens hadn't bought it, but after a minute passed, someone spoke, and his radio - having been patched into the correct frequency thanks to his AI - crackled to life, _"This is Citadel Dreadnought Sword of the Citadel, requesting confirmation codes."_

_"Standby."_ Said John, his words translated into the Asari language, and then changed in tone to match the Councilor's, "You got anything?" He asked his AI, as it sifted through the three Councilor's Omni-tools.

_"Everything you need, and much much more."_ Said the AI, before it spoke confirmation codes into the radio.

Several more moments, the crew of the Asari Dreadnought were probably checking to make sure the code was genuine, _"Understood, Councilor. All fleets, Thessia needs your help!"_

The squad looked out of the massive windows, and all let loose a collective breath as they saw the alien ships practically scramble over each other to try and get to the Tuning Gate.

"Pretty damn stupid… Aren't they?" Commented one soldier, "Not even making a 'holy shit what the fuck' response? Not trying to confirm the information? This galaxy is in for a _nasty_ reality check…"

"Move out, we've got six minutes." Said the lieutenant, after a few minutes passed.

* * *

The Human's magnetically accelerated slugs soared across the silent void by the thousands. They slammed into the veritable wall of Turian ships, dozens were crippled, dozens more severely damaged, and many were destroyed. The Turians Mass Accelerator weapons launched their weapons in response, and they flew across the void near light speeds, before slamming into human ships, crippling several and destroying three. The Turians cheered at the destruction of the alien ships, but were silenced as their sensors detected the Quarian Navy, as it arrived in the thousands to reinforce the humans. As many Quarian ships as could be done had been given everything the humans could spare, decommissioned Rail Guns, salvaged weapons, missile pods, point-defense ballistic cannons, and a few [Namely the largest ships and the Admiral's ships] were given anti-matter weapons.

"All ships reporting Anti-matter weapons ready, captain."

"Fire." Ordered Captain McGrath.

He'd expected the ship to shake from the force of the particle beam, but it did just the opposite. The only indicator that the Human race's most powerful weapon had ever fired, was the blue-white flash and dozens the same colored beams tearing across the void at the speed of light. Not a moment later, the blue-white beams of destruction slammed into one of the bigger Turian ships. Almost immediately after the blue-white beam slammed into the ship, it exploded violently, as the antimatter particles collided with the real particles, and all exploded at the speed of light. It took not a minute for the fragments of the ship to be completely unrecognizable from what it had once been, a proud naval vessel.

"The Turians are retreating, they're confused sir!" Declared a crewman, reading from his scanner, after hundreds more Human ships let loose their anti-weaponry.

"All ships, fire at will!" Declared a gleeful captain, as his ship's shields flared in response to a few Turian slugs slamming into them.

Immediately thereafter, the Human and Quarian ships all let their weapons fire. Tens of thousands of magnetically and mass accelerated slugs shot forth. The Turian navy was dazed, that much was obvious. More than likely they hadn't thought _anyone_ would be 'stupid' enough to attack the home of Turian societal and military development. It was that very same reason Humanity had been so blind-sided when Earth had been attacked, and the Alliance hoped the same would ring true for the Turians. They were greatly thankful it did.

The naval engagement went on for an hour and twelve minutes, with the Turians having an advantage in military discipline and advanced Mass Effect weaponry, but the Alliance having an advantage in numbers, and the anti-matter particle beam, which completely ignored the Turian ships' shields, and could destroy several ships in a single arc. The Alliance spared no expense for the Turians, whenever a small pack of ships, usually numbering in five to ten, would try to escape, nearly half of the Alliance's ships would shift their guns to the ship to destroy it. The Turians quickly realized that attempted escape was futile, and as such soon resorted to going out with a bang. It took a few minutes after this revelation for the ships to consolidate and regroup, but after doing so they moved forward, trying to daze their enemies and push them back. The Alliance ships with anti-weaponry were unaffected, and when assisted by Quarian ships and other Human ships with 'lesser' guns, they brought the Turian Defense Fleet to an abrupt halt. The Battle was as fierce as it was short, both sides took many losses, but the Turians knew eventually that they would lose.

The _Beautiful Annihilation_ was proving it's worth each time a Turian weapon would pierce it's shields and slam into it's nearly impenetrable armor. Several times, dozens of Turian ships would launch dozens of missiles at the Human dreadnought, but every time the Dreadnought would be the victor, and would only suffer from a 'scratched paint job'. The _Annihilation's_ armor and anti-matter weapons proved vital to the Alliance's eventual victory.

After the Palaven Defense Fleet was utterly destroyed, and once the Alliance fleet made completely sure that no ships had survived, they made for the planet.

"What are your orders, Director?" Asked a communications officer, aboard the _Piked Shield_.

Alliance Director Jason Whyte looked to Palaven. From orbit, it was an odd, unnatural green color. The clouds were a sickly pale green, the water was a murky blue, and the continents were a combination of silver and green, not unlike Earth and Eden's continents.

"Take positions above the Turian New-York class cities. A series of six orbital strikes are to precede the Ground invasion at each landing point." Ordered Whyte, "And send word to the Relay Shifters, commence re-movement immediately.

"Yes sir."

The Alliance's invasion plan was short, sweet, and simple. They _knew_ an occupation would end in an eventual failure, due to the Alliance ground-force's disadvantage in numbers; even with the Migrant Fleet Marines, the Alliance Ground Forces still stood at less than twelve million [There had been close to eight million Alliance Ground Forces before the invasion of Earth, the casualty counts are still coming in, the current numbers of enlisted personnel are relatively unknown.]. So in light of this, the Alliance was going for a shock-and-awe tactic, they'd move in to orbitally bombard and conquer the largest of the Turian cities, decimate their military, and move out just as quickly, taking with them POW's, scavenged alien technology, Alien leaders, and all the data their AI's could salvage.

"Sir, the ships are in position." Said the communications officer, after several minutes passed.

"Tell all Alliance ships to load up the Hands of God." Whyte ordered.

It was decided beforehand that the Alliance - despite a great want to - shouldn't launch the Turians into a veritable 'Nuclear Winter', by striking the planet with fully charged Rail Guns and Mass Accelerator Cannons. It was for this reason that the Alliance authorized the use of the 'Hand of God', the satellite weapon that had extensive use in the Humans' counter attack on Earth.

"I take it the communications systems are still down?" Asked Whyte.

_"Yes sir, there have been several attempts to reactivate them and call for help, but, as we've learned from the Quarians, this galaxy fears AI's, and therefore is unaccustomed to combating Artificial Intelligence hacking attempts. Every time they try to reactivate the 'comm-buoy' network, I respond with a generic 'Everything is okay, this is just a test' message." _Responded Roland.

"How prepared are they to defend against a ground invasion?"

_"Completely unaware. They solely rely upon the comm-buoys as their means of communications, when we took them out, the Turian Navy was absolutely unable to contact Palaven. However, due to the communications blackout, all of their military bases are on a level alert comparative to DEFCON 4, a strike from a Hand of God could neutralize a vast majority of their military forces at each base."_

"Good… Give all ships the location of Turian military bases. Tell all ships _not_ moving to strike cities to position above Turian military bases. The fleet is to open fire on my command."

Several minutes passed, as the human/Quarian fleet assembled above Palaven. The Human AI's were giving reports of confused activity on the planet's surface, most likely in response to the lack of communications with the Navy, and the rest of the Galaxy.

"The fleet is ready to fire, OD3 battalions are preparing for the drop, and Quarian Marines are ready to deploy on your word." Reported the _Piked Shield's_ AI.

"On my mark, fire." Said Whyte, as he took another moment to look at the green planet, which would soon be embroiled in war.

_This is it._ Thought Whyte, _I will be the first Human being... In the history of our people... To order an attack upon an extra terrestrial world. _He took a single moment to realize what that meant, and what could come as a result of it. Attacking this planet held innumerable possible repercussions, but he and the Alliance had come to the conclusion that it _was_, in fact, for the greater good of Humanity. To appear strong, and debilitating in war, could cause the Galaxy to think twice before attacking the Humans again, when this war was over.

_There is no going back... I say the word... And we enter war, with another race._ Whyte thought.

"Fire." He said, quickly, as if saying it slowly would make him want to take the words back.

And with that order, the thousands of thousands of Alliance ships all unleashed devastating fire upon the Turian homeworld. The human ships launched the dozens of satellites they contained, and moments after the satellites oriented, they fired their payloads upon the significant military and structural targets. The Quarian ships were gearing up for orbital and atmospheric deployment of their marines, and as the Hands of God fired, the remaining Human ships did the same. For a solid ten minutes, the Turian homeworld was bombed from orbit, the largest cities were turned to enormous piles of rubble, and gigantic blazes of orange, the mightiest of military bases were blown apart and devastated from the surprise attack, the once proud and mighty Turian Hierarchy was being torn apart by a species they'd considered beggars, and thieves, and by a race they'd had no idea existed.

After ten minutes of sustained bombings, the fleet ceased the orbital fire, and upon Whyte's orders, began the ground invasion. First would come the battalions of Human Orbital Dropping Death Dealers and the Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines, then would come the Alliance Air and Space force, to begin the aerial domination, following that would be the Alliance Marine corps, and the N7 Special Forces, ending with the Alliance Armored Division and the SIGMA Operatives to deal the finishing blow. Any still-standing military bases were the primary objective, then came the destroyed cities, orders were to fire upon any recognized military targets and units, and not to fire on any civilian forces unless fired upon; the Human Alliance had been warned by the Quarians that all civilians were required to join the military at one point in their lives, so it would more than likely be complete and total resistance against the Alliance forces, in spite of this, the orders still stood.

_"First wave of OD3's are away."_ Reported Roland, as each human ship - planet wide - launched their 'Suicide Leapers'. Whyte could see thousands upon thousands of drop-pods get set ablaze as they entered Palaven's atmosphere, and self-guided towards their targets. Immediately Roland began reporting that human communications were lighting up as the OD3's were landing in military bases and civilian cities alike, the military base landers were immediately engaged, and the city landers would be engaged a mere fifteen minutes after, as the cities' police forces attacked the aliens.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Alliance." Said Whyte, having his voice broadcasted fleets-wide, "Welcome... To our first inter-planetary war."

* * *

Vjor Nal'san awoke in his bed, but not to what he was used to being awoken by, his alarm, but by the unnatural stillness in the air, and the strange, foreboding quiet that he'd grown to fear through his time in the First Strike Ground Troopers. He sat up slowly, and rubbed his aching fringes, he'd attempted yesterday to keep up with the younger FSGT's in training, but as with many Turians, age caught up to him like a raging Varren, and it almost immediately made itself known when he went to bed the previous evening. He looked around his room, a moderately sized one, for Turian standards, until his eyes came to rest upon his mate. Silna Vin-Nal'san was the greatest woman a Turian could ask for, remarkably strong-willed, quite strong, and very intimidating when she needed to be. Most species, like Salarian or Asari, would shy away from women with those traits, or attempt to quell them, but Turians embraced them, and - though he didn't quite like to brag - Vjor had to have gotten the best one in the Galaxy.

Vjor did a few more passes over his neck-plates, before he gave his mate a few taps on her neck - a Turian gesture of affection - before he got out of bed. He wore not more than a pair of pants, but that was his usual bed-time and early morning attire, and his mate and daughter had gotten quickly used to it. He stretched for a moment before he exited his room and made his way to the kitchen, where his daughter was happily sitting, reading a data-pad, waiting for assistance to get her food.

"Salzin, what are you doing up so early?" Vjor asked, it was a siersuhn, she shouldn't have school today, and usually on siersuhns she slept in.

"I had a bad sleep-thought, father." She said, a slight hint of fear in her flanged voice, from remembering the dream.

"Tell me about it." Vjor requested, as he reached into the cabinets to get the makings for his daughter's favorite breakfast.

"I had a sleep-vision where there were ships, above a planet, somewhere." She began, still reading the data-pad, "But then the planet started shaking as the ships dropped things on it, and then I was in my room, and everything was shaking, or on fire..." Her voice started quivering, Vjor had paused in his breakfast preparations to listen to her story, "Then I saw big monsters, wearing Krogan skin... They were big, big as the sky-buildings, and they started breaking everything, mountains, buildings, even the soldiers... Then... Then..." She couldn't go on.

"Hey... Here here..." Said Vjor, as he went to his daughter and pulled her into an embrace, he'd expected the 'Krogan' part, ever since they'd been to the Citadel and an idiot Krogan had the misfortune to attempt to abduct her, "You say that you saw a Turian planet, in your dream?" He asked, she nodded against his shoulder, "Well, if anything, I can _guarantee_ you that it can't have been ours." He said, "You know why?" She shook her head, "Because Palaven is where Turians come from. And Turians are the strongest fighters in the galaxy, bar none. _No one_ would think of attacking our planet, let alone actually set up an invasion force, with big Krogan monsters." He explained, "Besides, it was just a sleep-vision, yes?" She nodded, "Well there you go. That's all it was, a sleep-vision. It wasn't real, and it will _never_ be real." He said, pulling back to look his daughter in the eye. "Understood?" He asked.

Salzin nodded, relieved that her father was here to make the bad feelings in her stomach go away.

"Why don't you watch some henisohn while I make your breakfast?" He suggested.

"I tried..." She responded, with a shrug, "It didn't work."

"Did you make sure your Omni-tool was keyed into the receiver properly?"

"Yes, but it couldn't make a connection. I tried looking it up on the extra-net like you showed me, but I couldn't connect to it, either." Salzin said.

"Well that's odd..." Said Vjorn, pretending to be intrigued, though he was sure it was just a mistake on her end, "Let _me_ try it..." He said, as he walked out into the living room.

Vjorn activated his Omni-tool with a flick of his talon, and turned on the henisohn, which was mounted on the wall. He half wanted to listen to the news, to see if there were any updates on the war front, but knew that Salzin would object, and would want to watch 'Singy, the First Turian' instead. The henisohn activated, and Vjorn made to turn to his daughter when he caught the single-tone beep that he had had drilled into him during post-training.

Vjorn's head whipped to the henisohn, upon it was the symbol for the hierarchy, and the inter-globally recognized symbol for distress. It looked like words were trying to inch their way across the bottom of the screen, but they looked jumbled up and corrupted. The henisohn flickered once, twice, thrice, before it shut off completely. Vjron hadn't been able to decipher many of the words on the screen, but he had made out two, the two he wished and prayed to the spirits weren't true: "NOT... TEST"

"Father, were you listening to the military music network again?" Asked Salzin from the other room.

_Spirits... Stay calm... _Thought Vjorn, he looked to his daughter, "Salzin, could you go to your room, please? Pack an overnight bag or two, we're going to Aunt Sinna's home." If what he _thought_ was happening, was actually happening, then he had to get his family as far away from the cities as possible. The corruption around 'Not Test' was much more revealing than whomever was wrestling control realized. It meant that communications were being jammed, which meant that Palaven - - _Palaven! - - _was under attack. And, he suddenly remembered with a sinking feeling in his stomach, he was in Menan. Palaven's _capital_ city. If they were under attack, this would not be _a_ prime target, it would be _the_ prime target!

"We are? I thought we were going to go to -"

_"Do as I say, Salzin!"_ Vjorn ordered, "Please!" He added, as he quick-walked back into his room.

Upon entering, he saw his mate stir, she was probably unconsciously responding to the emergency tone, he wasn't surprised, she _was_ an ex-cabel. Vjorn quickly grabbed a shirt and threw it on, catching one of his mandibles in the process. After a brief but amazing battle with the piece of clothing, Vjorn was now dressed and he made his way to his mate.

_"Silna..."_ He whispered, _"Silna... Wake up, right now!"_ He pleaded.

"Hm?" Silna said, drowsily, "What is it?"

"Silna, we need to leave Menan, _right now!"_ Vjorn stated, urgently.

Silna was quickly roused from sleep, "Why?" She asked, her post-sleep slurring her words, "What is happening?"

"The Emergency Tone was issued, but it was highly corrupted. It was _not_ a test!" Said Vjorn, his mate had already sprung to her feet when he'd said 'Emergency Tone'.

"What is happening? Details?" She asked, as she quickly got dressed.

Vjorn went to the weapons locker next to his night-stand, and began inputting the code, "I do not know, the message was heavily corrupted, I believe that Palaven might be under attack."

"Who in the name of the _Spirits _would attack Palaven?!" Demanded Silna, as she came to grab a pistol from the locker.

Vjorn gave her one, hard stare, which told her all she needed to know.

"But how could they have gotten past our defenses?!" She demanded.

"They destroyed the first and second fleets, and infiltrated the Citadel and destroyed a dreadnought with little to no warning. Invading Palaven isn't outside of their reach." Vjorn said, before a knock came from the door.

_"Father? My bag is packed, why are we going to aunt Sinna's house?"_ Salzin asked.

"You didn't tell her?" Silna asked, mutedly.

"I didn't want to worry her, if we leave fast enough she won't have to know." Said Vjorn, as he compacted the pistol and stowed it on his thigh. He and Silna quickly took the essentials bags from the weapons locker. They had all they would need, a few vials of medigel, a couple MRE's and some food-paste, spare Omni-tools, emergency beacons, and flare guns, among other things.

Vjorn and Silna exited the room and quickly put their foot-wear on, they made a quick excuse to Salzin that Vjorn had gotten an Omni-message from Sinna that one of the cattle was sick and she wanted someone to assist her in helping out around the house. Thankfully Salzin wasn't all too bright, and she bought it. It took them a few minutes to flee the high-rise building.

Vjorn got a single moment, when outside, to hear the unbearably loud whistling sound, before he looked up and saw a sight which he dreaded.

Some sort of object, - several objects! - he couldn't see what it was specifically, but it looked like some kind of missile, or a rod, because it had no propulsion system. The objects were falling in from _Orbit!_ He suddenly remembered the concept of the 'Non-nuclear Kinetic Bombardment', a weapon used during the Unification Wars, where they would set up satellites with meters-long steel or tungsten rods, which would literally be dropped upon the planet from orbit, to create nuclear-yield explosions, without the harmful fallout.

Whomever was attacking, was aiming to cause damage. _A lot_ of damage.

_"Barrier!"_ Vjorn shouted, as he quickly got down to his knees and shielded Salzin with his body. Silna hastily erected a biotic barrier around the three, but it did no good. When the first of many rods struck ground, it was not a few blocks from the family, and they were killed in the shock and heat wave that occurred an instant after the missiles slammed into the ground.

They would not be the first to die in the orbital strikes, and they certainly would not be the last.

* * *

_"If anyone can hear this, this is the Emergency Tone."_ Said the Turian, into the microphone he didn't even know wasn't working, not entirely, at least, _"This is not a test."_ He believed that his words were being broadcasted all across Palaven, when in reality, the alien Artificial Intelligences from Orbit were only allowing them to think so, by allowing it to broadcast within the military base. _"Enemies unknown have begun an invasion of Palaven. Evacuation Procedure Neis is now in effect. Please move in a calm, orderly fashion to your nearest military or closed shelter, as fast as you can, and await further instructions."_

_"UP HIGH!"_

_"What are those?!"_

_"I am counting twenty - no, fifty objects!"_

_"I don't think they are missiles!"_

_"If you are unable to evacuate to a military or closed shelter, please leave the cities as fast as possible. A class XK Invasion is currently underway, and cities are prime targets."_

_"THEY ARE LANDING!"_

_"CONTACT!"_

_"OPEN FIRE!"_

Gun shots rang out, all around the base, as the invaders sailed in from orbit and slammed into the ground, before immediately engaging the wounded Turians, at their nearly destroyed base.

_"If you cannot evacuate your cities, be prepared to bunker down and assist Hierarchy Armed Forces as we repel the invaders."_ The Turian finished, before he set the message to repeat, endlessly.

_"They are pushing forward!"_

_"Call in aerial assets, we need air superiority right now!"_

_"Suppress the hostiles on my right flank!"_

_"What is that?! Down low! Front side!"_

In the distance, a loud howling could be heard, many of the Turian soldiers thought that the base's War-Varren supply had been loosed, but what greeted them was not Varren, but rather alien machines that held a Varren-esque appearance. The Radio operator got to his feet and snagged his shotgun, as the machines sprinted quickly for the walls. Snipers and heavy machine gunners attempted to strike them down, but they were moving far too fast, and eventually leapt over the base's walls. One in particular seemed to target the radio operator, but was blasted away by his shotgun. Several more of the varren-creatures seemed to replace the one that fell, and the Turian destroyed as many as he could, thankful that they didn't have shields.

_"We have got more machines, coming from the trees!"_

_"SPIRITS those things are huge!"_

_"What's that tall one carrying!?"_

Enormous mechs, obviously aesthetically designed around the alien invaders, breeched the treelines. Some looked like enormous versions of the aliens, some looked like some sort of animal with a shell for its back, and a gun for its spine, and others looked like the Varren, staying back to provide close-range support for their mechanical brethren. The largest ones held enormous guns, with two barrels that seemed to arc with electricity when they made ready to fire, and with a loud thunder clap, shot forth a huge slug at hyper-sonic speeds, which blew enormous holes in the perimeter of the base.

_"They are moving in!"_

_"Kill the Varren-mechs! We can't win the fight if we're being fired upon from both sides!"_

_"Where are our air assets?!"_

_"Radio operator is dead!"_

_"Someone go - - AAAUGH!"_

Quickly, with the enormous mechs at the treeline providing firing support, and the smaller varren mechs providing close range cover, the aliens began moving inside the base. The Turians consolidated quickly and attempted to freeze the enemy contacts, but one unfortunate Turian had the misfortune to look into the sky, as he waited for his gun to cool down.

_"MORE METEORS! COMING IN, HIGH!" _He shouted.

_"Where are they landing!?" _Demanded a soldier.

His response came in the form of the soldier's death cry, as his lower half was crushed by one of the landing pods. The alien invaders were landing _inside_ the base! What 'sane' armed force would put themselves in such a dangerous situation? The Turians were soon overwhelmed, seemingly unable to adapt to the unorthodox deployment and re-deployment of the alien soldiers, as they dived in from orbit in fiery drop pods. After several more minutes of intense, brutal fighting, the aliens came out on top.

One dying Turian managed to hear the aliens commenting on their victory, in their strange, brutal, but slightly musical language.

_"_Damn_ good job, Dealers!"_ Shouted an alien soldier, _"Regroup, transports are coming in three!"_

_"I thought these 'Turians' were supposed to be alien Spartans, Sir!"_ Declared an alien, _"What the hell happened to their life-long training for war?"_

_"Their training went out the fuckin' window when we came leapin' in. Hoorah!"_ Shouted another alien, the Turian wished he could get a recording of this, and send it to Palaven command, they might be discussing vital tactics and he wasn't getting any of it!

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

Alliance Medical Technologies: Cellular Fluid

_Cellular Fluid, developed first in 2119, and successfully tested in 2122, is among the most prominent medical advancements in Human History. In essence, it is a fluid that, when applied to a wound, is able to replicate cells from simple Blood Cells, to skin. It is often used to dress field-wounds or to replicate blood without the need of a donor. Cellular Fluid runs with a serious flaw, however, that has not yet been able to be solved.  
It is temporary.  
After twelve hours the fluid will 'Dilute' and will begin to break down and lose effectiveness. The 'diluted' fluid is completely non-harmful to the Human body. This is why hospitals and medics do not rely upon Cell Fluid to get through the job, they tend to use it as a means to buy time.  
**[Top Secret: SIGMA Augmented Immune Systems proven to 'dilute' Cell Fluid at a much faster rate than normal Human**_** Beings.]**

Alliance Navy: Adamantine Armor

_In the earliest days of the Alliance Navy, when Humanity was still 'anchored' to Earth, mixtures of many precious metals was used to create Alliance Military Vessels and their armor. Following the colonization and mass-industrialization of Eden, a new metal was discovered, that was proven to be multiple magnitudes stronger than what was being used as the current armor for Alliance Ships. The Metal was soon called 'Adamantine', and a mass of movements was made to mine it and program Synthesizers to flash-forge it. (Following the discovery of Tuning Metals, Adamantine has been rated 2 on the list of toughest metals known to Man.)  
Adamantine is now the standard armor for all Alliance Ships._

Alliance Military Tactics and Doctine: 'Relay Railroad'

_Hastily drawn during the Human-Turian War of 2201, the 'Relay Railroad' strategy employs heavily the use of Alliance Transportation methods. Using the 'Warp Drive', Alliance Ships can transport Mass Relays through 'Warp Space' and into a 'Neutral Zone', the location of which, remains classified. Following transportation to the NZ, the Ships then take as many Relay Pairs as needed and create a 'Railroad' of Relays, which can lead an Alliance Fleet to enemy territory in hours, where their enemies would take days to use 'Conventional' Relay/FTL Travel. _

Alliance Military Weapons Tech: Antimatter Particle Beam

_Created by Christopher McGraw in the Earth-Winter of 2201, the Antimatter Particle Beam remains the single most powerful weapon in the Alliance Navy's arsenal. Utilizing trillions, of trillions of anti-particles, condensed and fired in a single, thin beam, the weapon is completely capable of bypassing Citadel Council Naval Vessels' Kinetic Barriers. Upon impacting an enemy vessel's hull, the atoms of the impacted area literally and violently explode at the speed of light, very quickly and very easily destroying enemy ships.  
When in 'Populated Space', meaning space where civilian ships, space-dust, or Nebulae are present, it is doctrine to fire the weapon through a worm-hole to minimize collateral damage._

Human Nuclear Armaments -_Updated-_:

_Planet Destroying Nuclear Weapons are a very recent addition to the Alliance Nuclear Arsenal, and have yet to be tested.  
Utilizing ten pounds of anti-matter and two Planet-Shaker Detonation Packs, Planet Destroyers work by burrowing into the crust of a planet and detonating underground. This causes the planet to either shatter outright, or shake itself apart due to earthquakes and volcanic activity.  
Planet Shakers are Classified top-secret, and are considered to be the most powerful nuclear devices ever conceived by Human Hands, period._

* * *

_A/N:_

_More than sure I missed some Codex Entries, but the above is what I'm sure was important/noteworthy enough to get one._

_ I hope you enjoyed the Chapter, if you're looking for updates, check out my profile!  
If you're looking for different stories, check out some of my other work!  
Thanks for reading,  
ProfFartBurger_


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N:_

_Here it is, folks!  
Chapter 14!_

_I'll tell you right here, before we even get started... **MY **heart started pumping, as I wrote this... And I knew what was going to happen!_

_So keep that in mind, and make sure you've got 911 on speed dial, just in case._

_Without further ado, we're off!_

* * *

Chapter 14

November 27th, 2201

* * *

As his Mk. VI Orbital Insertion Drop Pod hurtled through the atmosphere, Sergeant Joseph Young was linking up his communicator with the rest of his squad. He and Alpha squad had gotten the 'easy' job of assisting the already-landed forces with the capture and destruction of a NY-Class city. He, as well as everyone hurtling through the void, and the air, knew that they wouldn't be dealing with two-bit cops for too long, and that more than likely some alien National Guard would be arriving in mere hours, and the alien army hours after that. The OD3 Able Battalion didn't consider this a threat, though, they considered it a challenge _worth_ accepting, as a show of force on Humanity's side.

From what Young had gleaned from his short bouts with the galactic encyclopedia, or the 'Codex', as the Quarians called it, the Turian Hierarchy was supposed to be the _foremost_ military power in the Citadel Council. Very much akin to how the United States of America had been on Earth for hundreds of years since it's inception, or how the Alliance _is_ in human society, but on a _much_ larger scale: They were a species that would actively promote peace, but would not hesitate to go to war. Unlike the Alliance, which was strictly volunteer only, unless in times of war, military service for the Hierarchy was _mandatory_, so each and every male in their society was given military training at the human equivalent age of fifteen. This would prove to be a challenge for the Alliance military, but not an insurmountable one, as many - stupidly - assumed that the Turians were very much human, and that not many became 'career' soldiers, and most simply left the military the moment they were allowed.

_"Sergeant, you might want to snap out of it, we're breeching the cloud barrier."_ Said Alpha squad's AI, Ed.

"Thanks Ed." Said Young, "Squad! Listen up! We've got OD3's dropping in ahead of the marines and N7 Ops, that means _we're_ the frontlines right now!" He said into his communicator, "Right now Beta, Charlie, and Delta squads are moving through the city, evacuating any and _all_ alien civilians and engaging Police Forces. Our orders are as follows: Engage _all_ identifiable military targets, spare civilians. However if a civilian _does_ fire upon us, we have the right to fire back."

"Sergeant, I thought _all_ alien civilians had military training? Doesn't that mean they'll _all_ be firing on us?" Asked a Dealer.

"Doesn't change our orders." Young stated.

"So when'll ET's Devil-Dogs be heading in?" Asked Private, First Class James Allen.

"Unknown, we've got AI's launching UAV's for aerial reconnaissance." Said Young, "Our initial bombardment of the planet included _dozens_ of major military targets, and any that we couldn't bomb are being covered in OD3's. So we can expect organized resistance at _any_ moment." The drop pod began shaking violently as it finally breeched the cloud barrier, and Sergeant Young got his first look at the alien city, he would describe it as horrifyingly pretty, and the suddenly howling rain wouldn't help things in the slightest.

Despite it's practical nuclear bombardment, dozens of buildings were still standing, though the spacing between them told Young that _many_ had fallen, and that many more were likely to fall soon. Turian buildings looked much like enormous spires and building-sized obelisks, as opposed to the rectangular human sky-scrapers. Many of the standing Turian buildings also had some sort of spire atop all of them, this spire seemed to be a lightning rod of sorts, as much of the sky's electrical discharge was being attracted to it.

_"Landing in three… two… one…"_ And a moment after the AI's warning, the drop pod slammed into the scorched steel surface of the alien planet.

The pod's door opened, and immediately the fifteen members of Alpha Squad rushed outwards, their weapons in hand and their boots on the unfamiliar, alien ground. Ed had tagged Beta Squad's leader in the squad's HUD's, and they immediately made their way to their allies.

The ground beneath them was slick with the mud-like substance that was formed when the rain mixed with the dust, debris and rubble created by the collapse of _dozens_ of buildings. Despite this, he could easily detect the difference between this city and - for example - Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta's roads were concrete in composure, this road was some form of metal, it looked like a bleached, scorched silver. Sergeant Young could see dozens of Turian corpses for every - _any - _human corpse on the ground.

Their radio flared, _"This is corporal David Ramirez, Beta squad! Our Sergeant is hit and we're pinned down by…, It looks like some sort of fire-station. The alien police forces have teamed up with the civilian populace and have us pinned down! We're sustaining casualties!"_ Shouted a younger sounding voice.

_"Corporal, this is Sergeant Imran Borodin, of Delta squad. We're moving to you but we're being slowed down by civilian resistance!"_ Responded an accented voice, _"ETA Seven minutes!"_

"Corporal Ramirez, this is Sergeant Young, Alpha Squad, we're closer to you and are moving as we speak. ETA two minutes." Said Young, as he motioned for his squad to pick up the pace.

_"Roger that!"_

"Squad! Move out!" Ordered Young, he and his dozens of Death Dealers surged to the east.

As the OD3 squad reached Beta squad's position, they heard the sounds of intense battle in the distance.

"Pick it up!" Ordered Sergeant Young, as he and his squad moved as fast as they could through the rain and across the ground.

A few minutes later they arrived at Beta squad's position, and immediately began suppressing the Turian resistance forces. He requested an update from Ramirez, and he'd been told that several had had their shields breeched, but these Turians hadn't yet learned about their armor's weak points, and thus the casualties they'd sustained weren't as bad as they'd expected - but their sergeant _was_ dead. Young responded with a nod and began supporting Beta squad by firing upon the Turians.

The Turians were very obviously trained, all of the Human-sized ones were moving with a practiced efficiency, and with what weapons they had, they were firing with what Young could easily recognized with a trained reluctance. Most of the shots fired by the Turians slammed home, but the OD3 Armor was far too thick for them, not to mention their shields, the bullets that hit the armor either bounced off or got lodged in it. The Human forces weren't as numerous as the Turians, but it was just like on Earth, the Humans were putting more rounds downrange, and were very quickly overwhelming the Turians, who were forced to get back into cover as their weapons overheated.

"I'm tossing a grenade!" Ordered Young, after a few minutes of battle. He prepared a nerve-grenade, "You -" He pointed to an OD3 who'd come equipped with a Grenade Launcher, "- Fire on my mark!" He ordered, the Dealer nodded and pulled the launcher from his back, "Tossing!" Shouted Young, before he tossed the grenade.

He heard the 'zoom!' of the grenade detonating, and he took a moment to check the grenade's effectiveness, this was the point when Young was forcibly reminded of the fact that he was fighting aliens, with different nervous systems, the Turians had indeed been effective, but they weren't frozen, rather they were slowed down to a crawl, the look in their eyes showed obvious confusion, as their entire nervous systems were temporarily betraying them, "Mark!"

A grenade was launched from a rifle, and the Turians were into several oddly sized, bloody chunks. The Dealer reported several Turians dead, and as they shifted fire back upon the building, several Turian fighter jets hurtled past them, obviously fleeing something. A moment later, a dozen Alliance air-and-space jets tore across the sky, one dropped something from it's stomach as it neared their position, and a moment later, the building detonated in a fiery explosion, and the Turians inside were incinerated.

Once the OD3's dispatched with the remaining Turians, Sergeant Young was the first to speak, "Who the hell called that air strike!?"

"It was our Sergeant." Said the Corporal.

"_Warn us_ next time! I was a _half_ second from ordering twelve of our men to flank the enemy!" Shouted Young, before he shook his head, "The Air Force is here now, we've got to keep moving forward, military resistance should arrive soon. Set the ground with mines, and _make sure_ to sync their positions on our HUD's!" He ordered, after acknowledgments were given, he turned to look at the smoldering ruins of the building the Turians had been fighting in.

_"Contact left!"_ Someone shouted, and a moment later the thirty two OD3's raised their weapons as one in the direction that was called out.

"I've got movement!"

"Motion on the tracker!"

"Right in front of us!"

"Hold fire!" Shouted Sergeant Young, before he amplified his voice through his helmet's speakers, _"DECLARE YOURSELF!"_ He shouted, over the howling winds and the screeching rains; after a moment's delay the same words were bellowed in Kehlish, the Quarian's language, so the alien would at least have a chance at understanding them.

Suddenly, a pair of blue hands appeared in the rubble, _"Isnam! Vier cannen nada!"_ Shouted a voice, as an alien rose to show itself to the human soldiers.

It was a few inches taller than Young himself, but the most remarkable thing was how Human it looked. Despite it's blue skin, and tentacle head, the figure in front of them looked like a carbon copy of a human woman. It had the facial features, bodily shape, breasts, even hands of a human woman. Young found himself wondering how tall the males of this woman's race were, if she was this tall.

_"Holy shit, sarge, is that what I think it is?" _Young heard from the radio.

_"This ain't a twenty first century sci-fi flick Dunn, stay focused."_ Said someone else.

"Down on your knees!" Shouted Young, keeping his rifle trained on the alien woman's head.

She seemed hesitant, she said something in her native language but Young's translators only worked for the Quarian language, not blue-octopus-chick.

_"ON YOUR KNEES!"_ Shouted the deep voice of one of Young's squad mates, much more forcefully than Young had done, _"DO AS HE SAYS!"_

The blue woman complied at this, and slowly got down to her knees. "Corporal, restrain her." Ordered Young, before he heard the one sound all OD3's were trained from day one to detect. The air itself sounded as if it was screaming, but this wasn't raging winds or cracking lightning, this was something made by the hands of sentient beings.

_"MISSILE! GET DOWN!"_ Screamed Young, as he and the other human OD3's scrambled for cover, and the blue woman took the opportunity to flee.

Not a moment later something slammed into the ground several meters in front of Young, but it didn't stay, but rather skipped across the ground like a stone would on water. The object flew above Young, and he immediately recognized it as some sort of transport mechanism, not unlike the OD3's Drop Pods. What caught Young's attention, was that it was empty.

_"It's not a missile!"_ Said a Dealer, _"The hell was it?"_

"Drop pod! We've got company!" Said Young, when all of a sudden he saw several OD3's get lifted into the air, as if he'd had gravity turned off.

"What the hell!?" Demanded Young, as he reached up to grab one of the Dealer's extended arms. Young and the Dealer's shields flared a brilliant gold as the Turians' rounds slammed into them. Young dragged the dealer closest to him down, and he hit the ground but still felt weightless, and thus he held on to the cover he'd been using, for dear life.

"What the hell is that thing doing?!"

"Oh shit, they've got mages!"

"Remember what the Quarians told us! Overwhelm their barriers!" Shouted a Dealer,

"They're prepping something big!" Shouted another Dealer as he shifted his fire to the four Turians in question. Said Turians were enveloped in some sort of violet, flaming aura and were chucking fiery, magic orbs at the human forces.

"Dunn's hit! Dunn's hit! He's down, lifesigns negative!"

"We're taking casualties!"

"Prioritize your target! Magic guys first, everyone else _second_!" Shouted Young, before gravity turned back on and he slammed into the ground.

"That one in the back made some kind of barrier! It's catching our rounds!" Reported a Dealer, after a few moments of fire.

"We've got guys, ten O'clock!"

"On our six!"

"We're surrounded!"

The OD3's had quickly become boxed in by aliens using much the same tactics as they would: Surround your enemies by dropping right on top of them. Normally, the Death Dealers would have been only slightly tripped up by an event like this, but these aliens seemed to be throwing up some sort of energy barrier which would catch all of their bullets and drop them to the ground, while other aliens would alternate between chucking some sort of orb of flaming, dark energy that would explode like three grenades upon impacting the human shields. It took only a few minutes for the human soldiers to get pinned down, though they weren't making it easy at _all_ for the Turians, who seemed to realize they had an advantage where they didn't before, against the human armor. Whatever magic they were using, when it slammed into the human armor, would eat away at it until there was little left other than the undersuit the humans wore underneath their powered armor. The humans' shields did great jobs of deflecting the magic, but the precise, deadly fire from the Turians' weapons, coupled with the magic itself, made quick work of them.

_"What the fuck man, we're fighting wizards and warlocks?!"_ Demanded an OD3, as he shot at the Turians.

"They're falling into cover!" Said Young, as he pointed out the Turians suddenly leaning back into cover, almost all as one, Young could hear a 'beeping' noise as they did so.

"Return fire! Keep up the pressure!" Ordered an OD3, _"I read the reports on Earth, their guns work on a heating system, once it overheats they can't use it!"_

"Thanks for the warning! Anything else you want to tell us?!"

_"They don't run out of ammo!"_

"Selective fire! Conserve your ammunition!" Ordered Young, "Keep up the pressure, it only takes two shots to make sure they don't get back up!"

The fighting was brutal, the Turian soldiers had made a swift advance at the beginning, but now the OD3's were adapting and changing their strategies. They had less numbers than before, these new Turians had taken out ten of them and injured five more, but now the Humans were regrouping and counter attacking.

"Deploy cover spheres! We need to move up and take the fight to them!"

_"Roger, cover sphere out!"_ Shouted a Dealer, before he and several others withdrew a fist-sized orb, that, at first glance, looked like a grenade, but Alliance Special Forces knew that they were anything but. The OD3s threw the orbs with all their might, and they landed right in the middle of the no-man's land between the Humans and Turians. The orbs then began to extend and assemble, and after a few moments each became a meter meter high, and half an inch thick slab of steel.

"Launchers!" Shouted Young, referring to those who had grenade launchers, "Suppress them! Machine Gunners, move up and mount your guns! We need suppressing and overwhelming fire! Move!" He ordered.

Six grenades were quickly shot through the rain-filled air, and detonated in fiery explosions when they reached their targets. The Turian barriers shattered completely under the combined force of the explosions, and the Humans pressed this advantage. The Humans still in their area suppressed the remaining Turians to allow the OD3's with the Machine Guns time to get to their forward-positioned cover, and set up their high-caliber weapons. In just a few more minutes, the Humans had nearly doubled their owned positions, but the Turians weren't backing down, their mages were now working double time, trying to destroy the Machine Gunners so _their_ forces could use the Alliance Cover Spheres, they launched every manner of dark energy ball at the OD3's, but they'd fastened themselves to the ground, so they practically refused to lift off into the air when singularity vortexes were thrown at them.

"We've got 'em suppressed!"

"Keep the pressure up!" Ordered Young, feeling victory was just within his grasp.

_"Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers, prepare for immediate support."_ Said an accented voice, that Young's HUD recognized as speaking in the Quarian language.

Almost immediately a veritable fleet of Human and Quarian shuttles breeched the Turian homeworld's cloud barrier, hundreds of shuttle doors opened as Humans and Quarians alike took up positions on their respective shuttle's turrets and tore into the Turian Special Forces. The sudden disadvantage in position severely threw off the Turians as they were either pinned down or outright slaughtered by the combined Quarian/Human fire power. It only took a few minutes for the Humans and Quarians to kill the Turians, and give the OD3's some breathing room, as the Quarian shuttles touched down.

"The marines are here!" Shouted a Dealer.

"Up High! More Suicide Leapers coming in!" Shouted another, as he pointed to the fiery objects hurtling down to the earth.

* * *

"How the _hell_ did they breech our systems space?!" Demanded Turian Primarch Aljorn Septin, rage was blatantly apparent in his voice.

The Palaven military coordinators bowed their heads in shame, the very low light of the underground bunker cast deep shadows upon their head fringes. The four military leaders, and the Primarch, were the only ones who'd been able to get evacuated fast enough to avoid the alien invasion.

"Primarch Septin, ever since our military loss against the… 'Humans'… We just couldn't predict -"

"You _idiots_, predicting threats against the safety of Palaven is your **_job!"_** Septin shouted, slamming his clawed fist into the metal table, "Inconceivable military losses against some primitive species or not, the remainder of our fleets defending the citadel, or not, we are the _Turian Hierarchy_! Since _we_ defeated the Krogan, we've been the _only_ military superpower in the Galaxy! We can _not_ allow Palaven to fall! Doing so might open the gates for the destruction of the entire spirits-damned Galaxy!" He shouted.

"But sir… They're using weapons that simply outdo ours. Their infantry assault weapons completely circumvent our shields, their ship-based Mass Accelerator weapons move so slowly that they aren't detected by our shields, and their directed energy weapons simply detonate everything they see!" Declared the Palaven Defense Minister, "The only advantage we have is in numbers, but the bombs they dropped on our largest military bases severely reduced that advantage."

"What are you saying? You think we will _fail_ to protect Palaven?!"

"Not in those words… But... The possibility is _there_, sir... This enemy… We'd need to call the _entirety_ of the Council Fleets, the Salarian, Asari, and remainder of our fleets, to have a chance at defeating these people."

"Then you _know_ what we must do..."

"Sir, you can't mean…"

"I _do_! The Prothean ship was kept hidden from the Council for _this very reason._ Send the order, we're deploying the Dread fleet immediately, activate Communications Contingency 003 and _get the damned pulse out!"_ He ordered.

* * *

Turian First Strike Ground Troopers, First Batallion was on the move to Menan, Palaven's capital city. It was hit hardest by the enormous - not to mention illegal - orbital bombardments, and the Hierarchy had deemed it's continued defense a top priority. So the FSGT's were moving as fast as they possibly could, hundreds of ground and sky vehicles were hurling through the ground and sky-ways.

That is, until Alhon Sinae's vehicle lurched to a sudden, and violent, stop.

"Why are we stopping!?" Demanded the Lieutenant, "There's still three kilometers until we get to the city!"

_"Road block ahead sir... You need to see this..."_ Said the APC's driver, as he hit the switch to open the vehicle's back ramp.

"Alright... Squad, move out! We're going to see what's blocking the road and move it away! Double time!" He ordered, receiving a chorus of 'Yes sirs' in response.

Outside, no one could have predicted what they would have seen. The entire highway, starting not a few feet from the APC's front end, to several dozen yards away, was littered with Humans. Not living Humans, but rather Human _corpses_, blood had been splattered across the ground and the Humans looked like they'd given a fight.

"Oh... Spirits..." Said Sinae, before he keyed his squad's radio, "Is this separatist territory?" He wondered, referring to the Turian Terrorist faction, that, quite simply, wanted the Turians to secede from the Council and live as it's own faction. These poor Humans must have been attacked by those barbarians, even though they were enemies, Sinae couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

An FSGT shook his head, _"No sir."_ He said, _"Menan is a separatist free zone, there shouldn't be any strongholds within thirty kilometers of the city."_ He explained.

"Did the Cabals make their way through here then?" Wondered Sinae, as he moved over to the nearest Human, this one seemed to be much larger than the others, and had some sort of helmet with a reflective golden visor. "What killed these Humans?" Sinae wondered, as he looked into the helmet's 'eyes', he was reminded of a Quarian's visor when he looked at this, but unlike the Quarian's visor, this one wasn't frosted, but rather it was reflective. That was an odd choice, for a soldier, why would it reflect images like a mirror? When frosting it would be a much more tactical choice.

_"Before the transmissions stopped, I heard that Cabals had been deployed to some of the larger cities, but I didn't heard anything about Menan."_ Said a soldier, before he shrugged, _"It's a possibility... But not that likely..."_ He said, before the air suddenly seemed to freeze. It was still, silent, unmoving, the veteran marines recognized what was going on a split second before it happened.

Several of the trucks to the rear detonated in huge, fiery explosions. Missiles streaked in from the _trees_ and slammed into the trucks nearest to the five in the front. Before Sinae could order all the marines out of the APC's and to counter attack, the golden-visor'ed Human moved, and in a flash a knife had been slammed into Sinae's face, right between his eyes. His toughened Turian hide did nothing to resist the knife, and in just a moment, he was dead.

_"ATTACK!"_ Screamed the Human with the golden visor, and just like that, the dozens of dozens of previously dead Humans that littered the ground got to their feet, and shouted battle cries as they rushed the Turian FSGT's. There were four other Humans with golden visors, in addition to the one that issued the attack order, they all were considerably larger than the other Humans, and moved much faster than the others.

"It's a trap! All units, dismount and attack!" Ordered an FSGT, as he fired into the Human horde. The APC at the lead of the column revved its engines, before it tore forward, its machine gun roaring as it made to run over the Humans and squish them under its tracks. One of the Humans with golden visors was close to this, and instead of accepting his fate, he dived to the ground not an instant after he realized what was going on.

_"OFF THE ROAD!"_ He ordered his allies, as the truck passed over him, when it did so he grabbed onto its belly and was dragged along the ground. The Human slammed his fist into the APC repeatedly, he obviously had to have some sort of assistance from his armor, because after several quick, brutal impacts, his fist tore a hole in the vehicle's under-carriage, which he promptly shoved a grenade into, and let go of the vehicle. It surged forth, still attempting to kill Humans, not at all knowing of its certain fate. A moment later, the vehicle exploded in a huge fireball.

The FSGT was amazed the Human had been able to think that up in just an instant, not to mention the ingenious plan they'd laid out here, pretending to be dead to make the FSGTs to lower their guard, so they could attack with brutal efficiency. The surviving Turians were grabbing cover wherever they could, and opening fire upon the Humans, but they were rushing the Turians and using close range weapons to deal with them in a quick, brutal manner. Their snipers and rocket launchers in the trees were deadly as well, taking out any Turian that looked like he was about to get a kill-shot on a Human.

In just five minutes, the entire First Strike Ground Troopers' First Battalion was dead or dying.

"Oh _hell_, you SIGMA's _**are** _invincible!" Shouted a Human, after the gunfire died down, "I can honestly say I'm amazed at the fact that that _worked!"_

"It's what we do." Said a Human SIGMA Operative, as he checked the Turian corpses. The N7 snipers in the trees deactivated their tactical cloaks and dismounted from the trees.

"What's next, S-73?" Asked another SIGMA, as he and the other four looked to the lieutenant for orders. The other Humans - from the Marines to the N7 - did the same.

"How many did we lose?" Asked Ken S-73.

"Forty five have reported they are ready and able to fight, six are injured but cell-fluid can keep 'em going for now. The other nine have moved on." Reported an N7.

"Scavenge weapons, dog tags, and ammunition from the dead. Lace the dead Turians with explosives, once we're done we move back to the rendezvous and await further orders." Ordered the SIGMA, a moment later, his orders were carried out. The dead Humans were given quick prayers before they were scavenged for weapons, ammunition, and explosives. The dead Turians were quickly booby-trapped with explosives, set to detonate if anyone moved the corpses. Whomever would come after these people would more than likely check the bodies, then they'd explode, and the Turians would bunker down for several minutes waiting for another attack, that wouldn't come. Lacing these corpses with explosives was the very same as buying Human forces an extra quarter of an hour without enemy reinforcements, in the SIGMA's eyes.

* * *

The first thing he experienced was the feeling of cold water being poured all over his hide. His eyes snapped open, and he saw the inside of his stasis chamber, which was beginning to open, the cold oxygen from the outside leaking in. When the door finally opened, Jin Funal of the Turian Ghost Corps took his first _true _step forward in centuries. He flexed his talons, they felt the slightest bit stiff, but the entire station was bathing the Ghosts in vita-rays, to stimulate muscle regeneration. Jin looked from his talon, to the station's speakers, waiting to hear his orders, so he could once again serve his species. He almost felt sorry for the poor souls that would face the raw might of the Turian Military.

_"Ghosts."_ Stated a voice, Jin didn't expect to recognize it, it had probably been hundreds of years since he'd heard the true voice of a Turian, _"It has been centuries since we have called upon you. When last you were called, you ended the Vorcha Batarian War."_ The voice said, Jin remembered those battles, the 'Vorcha' were fierce fighters, but stupid, _"Now we call upon you. _All_ of you."_ That gave Jin paused, he'd been in the Ghosts for centuries, but never once had the entire Corps been called upon, _"As you listen to this, Palaven... Our home... Is under siege."_ Upon hearing that, Jin, and each and every other Turian Ghost sprung into action, and ran as fast as they could to the armory, to get armed and ready for battle. Silently, Jin wondered when the last turn of the decade was, as it was every ten years when a Turian ship would enter the Ghost-Zone to change out the Ghost's equipment with more modern armaments. _"The people who dare to attack us... 'Humans'... Are a new race in the galaxy. But unlike the Vorcha, or the Krogan, they did not attempt to wage war upon the entire Citadel Council... They targeted us specifically. They crippled our navies and rushed towards our home, thinking they could break our will by setting our cities ablaze."_ Jin continued to listen, as he entered his squad's armory, dozens of Turians were already here, getting dressed as fast as they could in this new armor, using a holographic video as an instruction manual, though not many did use it, it wasn't hard to decide what piece went where; Jin immediately went to his storage module and began getting dressed, _"Palaven High Command has made the executive decision. **Everyone** we have is getting called in... Every**thing** too."_

At once, all the Ghosts in the station paused, they'd all _heard_ of the Prothean Dreadnought, that had remained docked with the Ghost station for as long as they had been around. Jin was old enough to know that the ship was checked on and had maintenance performed every three years, and dry docked every five to perform all the necessary and critical maintenance to its armor and engines. He also knew that, as expected, it was a ship like no other. Its shields were a testament to Prothean engineering, they were stronger than anything in the Council's fleets, and were unique in the fact that they deflected everything, including directed energy blasts, Jin remembered one of his engineers mentioning that they were made of pure energy, as opposed to eezo-forged barriers. The ship's main cannon was nothing to joke about either, he remembered the one time they'd test fired it, against a derelict Dreadnought, that was set to be decommissioned soon after; the Dreadnought's main cannon tore through the barriers of the Dreadnought in one hit, and carried enough force to severely damage the ship's armor. If the Hierarchy was clearing _this_ ship's use, Jin felt sorry for whatever navy they were about to decimate.

_"We need all the help we can get, Ghosts. As of this moment, you are all ordered to board every ship in the system, and make way for Palaven. It is paramount that You do not fail, Ghosts... Because if Palaven falls, the Hierarchy falls with it."_

"Alright! We have our orders! Are everyone's API's functional?!" Demanded Jin, shifting into 'Squad Leader' mode.

_"Sir, yes sir!"_ Shouted the Ghosts in the room.

"Have you gotten your weapons!?" He demanded, as he stuffed the sniper rifle, and assault rifle on his back, and the pistol on his hip.

_"Sir, yes sir!"_

"Are you ready to fight and _bleed_ for our race?!" He shouted.

_"And die if we must, sir!"_ Shouted the Ghosts.

"Then we move! Now!" Ordered Jin, as his squad thundered out of the armory and to the cruiser they'd been assigned to. Jin mentally went over the Ghost Fleet's numbers, they only had fifty ships, but five of those were Dreadnoughts, and that didn't include the Prothean ship. The ships were specifically designed for stealth purposes, save for the Prothean ship, and all were made to hold the near million Turian Super Soldiers.

As Jin was the last of the Ghosts to enter their cruiser, he couldn't help but feel sorry. The 'Humans' must have been extremely lucky to march to Palaven and win its void-space in the surprise attack. But now the Ghosts were entering the fight, and the Humans would burn because of it.

* * *

Han'Shon vas Rayya was still, and silent, the most still and silent he'd ever been in his Migrant Fleet Marine career. The Humans had sent hundreds of their 'Dragon Drones' to scout out the areas around the main invasion points, and one of the drones had reported that a convoy of Turian FSGT's had stopped to attempt to sneak through the forest leading into Heilna, a large city by Turian standards, but the Humans had called it an 'Atlanta' class city, so Han didn't quite know whether or not it would be right to call it 'large'; the Turians were trying to get a Forward Operating Base set up in Heilna, so they could bring in superior numbers and ground vehicles and push the Humans out. It was the job of the joint Migrant Fleet and Alliance Marine battalion to lace the forest with traps and set up a massive ambush. The Humans had only fifteen minutes before Turians would enter sight-range, so they'd skipped setting up snares and had gone straight for landmines and something they called 'Jumping Beans'. After they'd set up the mines was when Han had gotten his first look at how unorthodox Humans can be during war, he'd _heard_ of the oddities Humans had during battle, but had yet to see them up close. Several dozen Humans had taken to climbing, and fastening themselves, to trees to get vertical positions for sniping purposes. And the Humans that didn't have any tactical cloaks had pulled out some sort of sheet, that had all sorts of twig and grass-like appendages on it, sticking out in all directions. One Human had made light of the fact that 'Forests look the same _everywhere'_, and had gotten many laughs out of his comrades. Han had stuck to his tactical cloak, because he didn't at all trust the sheets to hide him effectively.

The Quarian's Heads Up Display lit up, suddenly, his motion trackers were picking up hordes of red dots. As the enemy numbers kept increasing, he found himself wondering if there was a 'part two' to the Humans' plan, because there couldn't be any way they could combat these numbers.

_"No one move... That's way more than what we were told to expect..."_ Said a Human, into the short-wave radios, Han agreed whole heartedly. There were probably a hundred to a hundred fifty Humans and Quarians here in this forest, and there were easily three hundred Turians making their advance. _"Command, this is Sergeant Walker, Alliance Marines, Second Battalion, be advised, the Turian Marines in the forest have numbers much larger than anticipated. Requesting Dragon air support, over."_ He said into his radio, Han silently prayed to the ancestors that the Alliance would respond fast, the Turians were rapidly approaching the first set of mines.

_"Sergeant Walker, all Dragon Drones are tied down keeping the Turian Air Force busy. We can work on sending down three Turtle Mechs and a Titan but that will take time."_ Said the man on the other end of the radio.

_"Command, is there anything you can do _right now?! _They're about to hit our mines!"_

_"... Sergeant Walker,_ standby." Said the radio.

And not a moment after that, the first Turian made the unfortunate mistake of stepping on an Alliance landmine. Immediately the other landmines closest to it began detonating as other Turians stepped upon them, and the Humans launched their attack. Those hidden by cloaks disabled them and started firing into the forest, those hidden by sheets stayed under but fired still, and the snipers in the trees began unloading bullet after bullet into the Turian First Strike Ground Troopers, who only took a few moments to realize what was going on, and to retaliate. The two sides were at odds for several minutes, with each side taking losses, but the Turians did something the Alliance forces didn't expect. Several of them advanced ever so slightly and threw clusters of grenades, which detonated into enormous, weighted, nets. Han realized what they were for as soon as they hit the ground, they were designed for anti-mine warfare. The weight of the nets was enough to set off nearly every mine the Humans had planted, and the ones that were supposed to leap into the air and detonate as such were tangled in the nets and ended up doing little to no damage.

"Damn it!" Shouted walker, as he and Han both fired at the Turians, _"Command, the Turians have anti-mine weapons, say again: Anti-mine weapons! We need support right now!"_ He shouted into the radio, as his shields shattered and he felt a Turian slug slam through his shoulder plate. Walker immediately moved back behind his tree to put pressure on the wound, and fumble for his cell-fluid.

_"Sergeant Walker, be advised, SIGMA Echo Team is on their way, but they are encountering heavy resistance. We are positioning the SSV Sanhoover above your area of operation to send down TITANs, but both will take time, recommend you dig in and do whatever you can to buy yourselves time, Piked Shield out."_

"Damn it!" Shouted Walker, as he felt the Cellular fluid shift form to repair his wound, "You! Quarian, what's your name?!" He demanded, the makings of an idea shown brightly in his eyes.

"Han." Said Han, "Han'Shon vas Rayya." He said quickly.

"Han, I think I remember reading that the Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines are supposed to be _the_ most maneuverable Marine Corps in your Galaxy, _is that true?!"_ The Human demanded, not bothering to be specific and mention 'The Terminus Systems and the Attican Traverse'.

Han nodded, so Walker continued, "I need you to take twenty of your _best men_ and flank the Turians! We've got to box them in and send them to the mines they _didn't _trip!" He ordered.

Han gave a quick salute and keyed the Quarian channels on his Omni-tool, he quickly called out a few dozen Marines he knew were better than good, and could be trusted, and told them to move around the east, and push the Turians west, as he did the same. The Quarian Marines understood what Han was getting at and acknowledged, and within a few minutes they were moving around the quickly advancing Turian forces. Han looked behind him and saw that some of the Quarians had sustained injuries, and their suits had already compartmentalized and drowned the afflicted areas in antibiotics. Han himself had the good fortune of missing several close-calls, but he didn't want to press his luck.

After a few minutes passed, Han checked his motion tracker and decided this was the best position to fight the Turians. He ordered his marines to prepare their grenades, as he did himself. On his order, they threw the grenades and the Turians began fighting enemies on two sides.

* * *

"Captain... There's something on the scanners, we've got new contacts!" Reported a crewman, aboard the SSV _Piked Shield_.

The Admiral looked to the crewman in question, "Did the Director send for reinforcements? Why wasn't I informed?" He asked, almost visibly confused as to why the Director would do this. The Alliance was already halfway through deploying their troops, and were set for a shock-and-awe, blitzkrieg war that would only last a few days, so why bring in _more_ forces?

"No sir, it's not flying Alliance colors..." Said the crewman, before the ship's AI spoke as well.

_"I have been actively searching through the Alliance, Quarian, and retrieved Citadel ship codices, the biggest of the ships is unrecognizable."_

"Ship_s_?" The Admiral emphasized the 'S', "Can we identify the others?" He asked.

_"The others are Turian."_ Stated the AI, _"But they are grouping around the biggest one, the one we cannot identify."_

"Perhaps it's a peace envoy?" The Admiral wondered aloud, "Hail 'em, but ready the fleet for attack. We just dominated this rock and we're not giving it up." He stated.

_"Hailing..."_ Said the AI, _"The flagship has refused my hails, as have the others. They are charging weapons."_

"Weapons fire! The Turian Flagship just fired its weapon!"

_"Sir!"_ Shouted another crewman, "The Turians just hit a Dreadnought, it's _gone_!"

"How is that possible? It took _ten_ Turian ships to destroy a Dreadnought when we were above Earth!"

"It was the flagship that hit it, sir, its weapon is something else!"

"The other ships are firing their weapons, orders?!"

"All ships, turn around and engage, Flagships, attack order Charlie, focus on the Flagship and blow it out of the water! Fire at will!" Ordered the Admiral.

"Main battery reports AMPB is at half charge, sir!"

"Main cannon is ready to fire!"

"Fire!" Ordered the Admiral.

The ship rocked as it fired its weapons, missiles streaked outwards and through the void, the magnetically accelerated slugs zoomed forth at breakneck speeds, and they were countered just as ferociously by the Turians, who seemed hellbent not on doing damage to the Human ships, but rather simple _getting_ to Palaven.

"Sir! The ships are deploying shuttles, they're all moving for the planet!"

"All carriers, deploy fighters, intercept those shuttles and take 'em down!" Ordered the Admiral, before the ship shook violently, the Admiral nearly lost his footing.

"The flagship just hit us! Shields at seventeen percent!"

_"I just finished calculations, Admiral, our armor cannot survive more than one shot from that ship's main cannon."_

"Focus fire on the flagship!" The Admiral ordered, suddenly fearful of what _else_ the Turians had, if they'd had this stashed away. As far back as he could remember, _nothing_ could destroy an Alliance Flagship, the only thing that had come close were the Turian Dreadnoughts above Earth. This thing, it had a main cannon that nearly shattered the _ship-grade_ energy shields of an Alliance Flagship. He feared what would happen if that ship's main cannon shot the _Piked Shield's_ engines.

"The main battery is reporting anti-weapons are ready to fire!"

"The other flagships are reporting the same." Added another crewman.

"All flagships are to fire their anti-weaponry! Target the Turian flagship."

"Roger sir, firing - Wait! The _Mars' Ambition_ is hit! Their missile bay has been damaged, they're reporting - - _Jesus!"_ Shouted the Crewman, as the _Shield's_ anti-weapon fired and sped across the void, joined by several other beams of blue-white light. After just a moment they slammed into the Turian Flagship, to no effect.

"What happened!?" Demanded the Admiral, he'd been under the impression that Turian ships were _extremely_ vulnerable to energy-based weaponry, but this one just shrugged off over a _dozen_ antimatter particle beams.

"The _Ambition,_ it was carrying planet-shakers, the Turian Flagship's slug slammed into one and they all detonated! There's nothing left!" The crewman reported.

"No, what happened with the _flagship!_ Did our weapons malfunction?!" Demanded the Admiral, making a mental note to mourn the flagship's crew _later._

_"I detected an energy surge from the Turian ship at the moment of impact. It is logical to assume that it uses an energy-based shield, like our ships do."_ Said the _Shield's_ AI.

"How? The Quarians told us that the Council weren't technologically _able_ to do that!" The Admiral stated.

_"I believe that this could be an experimental ship, kept secret from the public as it was developed for the explicit purpose of defending the Turian homeworld."_ The AI guessed.

"Then we've got to do this the old fashioned way... All flagships are to fire everything at the Turian Flagship, pound the living hell out of its shields, and when we blow a hole in 'em, I want every missile, particle beam and slug to fly through it and hit the damn thing!"

"We just lost another flagship!"

"Weapons ready, fleet-wide!"

_"_Fire!_"_

And with that, every ship in the Alliance fleet reared their guns and fired. The Flagships fired with their enormous antimatter powered Rail Guns, the Dreadnoughts with their broadside rail guns, the Destroyers with their massive deck-guns, and the Frigates primarily with missiles, and the Quarian ships with their aged, but still effective, spine-mounted Mass Accelerators. For each shot fired by the Alliance, this Flagship seemed to take in its stride; its shields were _nothing_ like the Humans and Quarians had ever encountered before, the ships either deflected, bounced back, or almost outright _absorbed_ the immense kinetic energy of the Alliance's ship's shots.

As the Alliance fired its massive stock of artillery to the Turian Ship, the Turian Flotilla - though weakened to half strength by the initial Human assault - launched a furious counter attack at whatever ships they could hit, with the explicit purpose of distracting the Humans from the hundreds of hundreds of shuttles that were hurtling towards Palaven. The Turian Flagship did an amazing job at crippling or outright destroying the larger Alliance Ships, already five Dreadnoughts, a flagship, and three Carriers had fallen to its mighty cannon. The Turians inside the ship were amazed at its heat-to-fire ratio, the ship's heat sinks were just about half full, and they showed no signs of giving out any time soon. The Captain of the mighty vessel made a mental note to encourage the Hierarchy to make more - as many as possible - of these ships, if they could, they would be nigh unbeatable. For spirits' sake, the shields were only half deadened, the energy attack they'd attempted had done most of that damage, but for whatever reason the Humans had decided that, instead of using the weapon that had done damage to the shields, they would use their bullets, guns, slugs and missiles to tear open the shield and attempt to pierce the Prothean armor, which was probably _just as_, if not strong_er_ than its shields. The Prothean Ship shook as its massive weapon fired once again, and the Turian Ghost was pleased to hear that another enemy ship - one of the smaller ones - had been removed from play.

The Turian's smile was wiped away, however, when a Ghost reported that one ship, one of the smallest classes, that had been more or less crippled by a Cruiser's cannon, was now maneuvering away from the battle. In fact, it seemed to be heading right for the Dreadnought. It took the Captain a moment too many to realize what the Human ship was doing, but before he could order the ship to move out of the way, the Human ship hit its top speed and soared through warp-space, to reappear just a few moments later right on the ship's bow. The Human ship slammed into the Prothean one, as it did, it armed every missile and explosive it carried, it even forced a malfunction of its antimatter engine. The explosion was enormous, and was just what the Alliance needed to tear through the Turians' shields.

"We got a break!" Shouted the Admiral, "Fire City Breakers!" He ordered.

"City Breakers, sir?"

"This ship's shields just survived the combined weight of the entire Autumn Fleet firing at it, and we haven't even tried firing at its armor, we're crippling its engines and taking it for our own. Launch a City Breaker!" He ordered.

"Yes sir... firing city-breaker."

_"Standby..."_ Said the AI, as the ship rocked from having one of its nuclear arms launched; several moments passed before it joyously - for an AI, at least - declared "_Impact! The Turian flagship's engines aren't responding, and its main cannon is down, it's crippled, sir!"_ The entire ship exploded into cheers. The Alliance fleet gladly mopped up the rest of the Ghosts, but the former was blissfully unaware that the latter had completed its goal: It had landed its troops, and now the fight for Palaven was _really_ going to begin.

"Alright, have the fighters move in and make sure it's not moving. Prepare a boarding party, I want any N7, OD3, and SIGMA forces that have yet to be deployed ready to fight the enemy on their own ship." The Admiral ordered.

* * *

SIGMA Echo Team comprised of twenty Human Super Soldiers, split into four five-man squads, and they all were hurtling towards the Alliance Soldiers that had requested help just five minutes earlier. Echo Team's leader, Joe S-61, had stopped getting updates from Command after the report had come in that new Turian ships had arrived, and just a few minutes after that, he couldn't raise Sergeant Walker, from the Alliance Marines. This worried Joe, he'd been going over reasons as to why this was happening, and grimly settled upon the Alliance forces had quite simply been overwhelmed. The SIGMAs had procured about a dozen ATVs from the Alliance Mobile divisions, and had just arrived at the location they'd been called to.

To say it was quiet would be an understatement. The air around them was _silent_, only the faint sounds of battle from the city were telling them that sound still existed. Joe dismounted his ATV and made a hand signal for the rest of the SIGMAs to do the same. They all spread out and moved slowly, and in unison, expecting trouble to come from anywhere. After a few minutes passed, in near dead-silence, Joe's foot hit something, he held his fist up to freeze his squad, he bent down and recognized the Alliance Ghille-tarp. He removed the tarp and was presented with a dead Alliance marine, it only took Joe a few more seconds to recognize the hole in the marine's neck, it had come from a knife. The man had been ambushed, he didn't even have a chance to react before his spinal cord was severed, but how had the enemy found him under the tarp? Even _Joe_ hadn't noticed him, and he was a SIGMA.

_"S-61... We've got a live one, over here."_ A SIGMA whispered over the radio, Joe carefully made his way to the SIGMA who flagged him down, upon closer inspection, the ground was _littered_ with Human corpses, there were Turian bodies too, but nowhere near as many Human ones.

When Joe found the living one, a Quarian, he got down to his knees and pulled out a vial of cell-fluid, acting on a hunch that it would work for Quarians too. He made to inject it into the Quarian's neck, but the Quarian grabbed his wrist, halting him.

"Don't..." He coughed, his suit was punctured in many places, even one on the chest, "I'm... Going anyways..." He coughed again, Joe could see blood cover the Quarian's visor, "You... You need to know..." The Quarian muttered, he was fading.

"What?" Joe asked, quietly.

"They... The Turians... They have..." The Quarian rasped out a few more coughs, "They... Have... _You_..." He said, before another cough, and then his head fell limp.

"Lieutenant?" Asked a SIGMA, "What did he mean... 'They have you'...?" He asked.

Joe digested that for a moment, the Quarian's words could have meant many things, the most likely was that the Turians had captured a SIGMA, but that was impossible, if a SIGMA Operative had gotten here he or she would have declared himself on the SIGMA Channels. That left another option, a more horrifying one. Joe looked up, and when he noticed it, his fears were confirmed.

Quick as a flash, Joe slammed his arm sideways onto the discolored tree in front of him, his arm hit armor, and the cloaked Turian was revealed. It had probably been waiting for an easy kill, but why hadn't he killed him when he was crouched down, helping the Quarian? It didn't matter, the Turian was moving fast, faster than any of the Turians he'd fought thus far, on Earth or here, he recognized the speed with a slight familiarity. He blocked a few blows and made to slam the butt of his rifle into the Turian, but didn't have to, as a SIGMA Sniper got a shot and took it, the Turian's head exploded as the round soared past it.

Joe didn't waste any time, _"All Alliance forces, the enemy has deployed _SIGMA-_Level Operatives. I say again, _SIGMA, Level, Operatives!" He declared, just as his other team and squad mates declared movement. SIGMA Echo Team was quickly plunged into one of the toughest fights since its inception. The information they'd stolen from the Turians said _nothing_ about Super Soldiers, yet here they were, fighting with all the skill and experience that would probably make _John S-1_ blush. The Humans dived to cover behind the trees, and engaged the Turians in all manner of battle, some shot their weapons, and some engaged in melee duels. The Turians outnumbered then, but only slightly. Joe didn't have time to dwell upon this new development, as he was engaged quickly.

The Turian in front of him replaced the one that had fallen. Joe only had a second to realize that the one they'd already killed had vanished, there wasn't any corpse left, just a steaming pile of... What appeared to be some sort of paste, everything, even the Turian's armor, had liquefied. The Turian in front of him engaged the Human in a ferocious melee duel, the Turian used his claws and a knife to great effect, one punch broke Joe's rifle clean down the middle, and not a second after the punch the Turian came in with the knife. Joe reacted fast enough, he brought his knee up to deflect the Turian's blade, and using the arm's momentum against it, he grabbed the arm, hefted it over his shoulder, and flipped the Turian - which had to be heavier than others, if it was augmented like Joe was - onto the ground. Joe placed his boot on the Turian's shoulder and pulled with all his might, he felt something 'pop', and the Turian's hand let go of the knife, which Joe snatched out of the air and brought down upon the Turian, but the Turian reacted just as fast Joe had done a while ago, it jerked its body hard enough that its dislocated arm moved in the way of the knife, and took the blow in place of the Turian's throat. The Turian proceeded to throw its still usable fist into Joe's face, thankfully Joe's shields were fully charged, and they took the brunt of the Turian's blow, Joe was amazed however, to see that they were down to half charge as a result of the Turian's fist. Joe slapped the fist away and lifted his foot, only to slam it back down onto the shoulder, his augmented leg's strength proved too much for the Turian's armor, and after a horrible groaning noise, the foot slammed through the armor and soared through the Turian's chest, after he twitched for a moment, the Turian fell, dead.

Joe didn't give himself time to marvel at his kill, he took his side arm off his belt and took aim at the nearest Turian SIGMA. He fired two rounds at it, but it conjured up the same magical barrier he'd seen another Turian use in the city. He knew how to work around this, and he bum-rushed the Turian, his weight in his armor proved too much for the barrier and he was sent careening through it, and onto the Turian, who reacted with augmented speed, and attempted to slit Joe's throat with its talons, Joe slapped the hand away and shoved the barrel of the gun under the Turian's helmeted chin, he pulled the trigger twice, and then a third time after a few moments passed. It was dead, but Joe's shields began flaring, he looked up and saw three Turians moving towards him, their weapons flaring. Joe scrambled to his feet, and grabbed the dead Turian and used it as an impromptu meat shield, as he moved back to cover. He didn't have the corpse for long, however, as it too very alarmingly quickly turned to the steaming, glowing paste that the other Turian had turned to. When the paste covered his hands, his shields began decreasing at an alarmingly fast rate, and Joe realized it must be some sort of acid, he shook his hands violently as he continued backing up, he cleared the acid off of him before it could melt his armor, but the Turians that were firing on him were still a problem. Thankfully, two Humans realized what was happening, and both tackled into the Turians from different sides, squishing the three together, a third SIGMA appeared with a shotgun, which quickly beheaded the three Turians. The three SIGMAs didn't have long to enjoy this victory, another Turian deactivated his cloak after he shoved a knife straight through the shields of one SIGMA and into his neck. The stabbed SIGMA died after just a few moments, and the Turian followed him after he was tore into by the shotgun.

The battle lasted much like this for several more minutes, and despite not truly knowing who would emerge the victor, the SIGMAs prevailed. Joe took a head count, they had nine SIGMAs left that weren't injured at all, and three that needed varying degrees of Cell Fluid. The rest were dead.

_"All Alliance Forces, the Turians _have_ deployed Super Soldiers, SIGMA Forces execute anti-SS Warfare, the Turian Supers are characterized by their advanced height and much quicker reaction time. Be advised: Upon death the Turian Super Soldiers' armor activated some kind of acid that is very damaging to shields, do not allow your skin to be exposed to this acid!"_ He relayed into the radio, before he switched channels to contact Alliance Command, they _needed_ to know about this.

* * *

Ken S-73 had just finished lacing the Turian corpses with explosives. It was a slow process, any misstep could be disastrous. He looked to the sky and saw shuttles, but these weren't Quarian, or Human. These were Turian reinforcements, but how had they gotten past the Fleet? Ken moved to check his radio, it had been shut off in the last battle, probably when he was dragged around by the APC, when he clicked it back on, he heard the familiar voice of Joe S-61 crackle through.

___"All Alliance Forces, the Turians _have_ deployed Super Soldiers, SIGMA Forces execute anti-SS Warfare, the Turian Supers are characterized by their advanced height and much quicker reaction time. Be advised: Upon death the Turian Super Soldiers' armor activated some kind of acid that is very damaging to shields, do not allow your skin to be exposed to this acid!"_ Joe declared.

_"Contact rear!"_ Shouted an N7, Ken whipped around and saw two shuttles coming to a halt above the ground.

Ken had two options, pray that it was a Quarian shuttle, or _decide_ it was a Turian SIGMA shuttle, and fire upon it. He decided upon the latter, after he shouted, _"OPEN FIRE!"_ And he shouldered his rifle, and fired at the soldiers that ran out of the shuttle. The soldiers raised their left hands and glowed with a violet energy, barriers appeared, leading the Turians, the walls of Human bullets and casings slammed into the Turian barriers, and dropped to the ground, not harmful to anyone. These barriers were easily stronger than the ones they'd encountered earlier in the day, before they'd set up the road trap.

_"We need explosives! RPG's, open fire on the shuttles!"_ Ken ordered, as he stowed his rifle and withdrew his shotgun, he knew some of the N7 had stayed in the trees, and his knowledge paid off as rockets soared from the roadside and slammed into the shuttles, several fiery explosions ended the flow of enemies, but there were still more than a dozen Turian Super Soldiers to deal with, versus several dozen Humans and only five SIGMAs. Given how the Turians were using their magic to block Human bullets, and their close-range weapons to tear through the non-augmented Human soldiers, Ken realized that five SIGMAs may not be enough.

_"SIGMAs!" _He called, _"Forward! Marines, retreat to the rendezvous point!"_ He ordered, as he rushed forward, he fired twice with his shotgun, his first shot tore through the barriers of a Turian, and the second caught him in the thigh. The enraged Turian turned to Ken, and it - assisted by two of its friends - moved to attack.

Ken was quickly surrounded, he let loose a few more shots from his shotgun before it was knocked from his hands. He withdrew his knife and entered a combat stance, he was surrounded, by three Alien SIGMAs, the odds were not in his favor. But he was amazed when he was two Humans - Marines, who weren't augmented - jump onto the backs of two Turians, and attempt to choke them out by holding their rifles against their throats and pulling. Ken got a quick moment to realize that all the Humans had defied his orders, and stood their ground against the superior foe. It gave him a strengthened sense of pride in his species, but he didn't get too much time to enjoy this sense, as the third Turian made to attack.

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

Alliance Military Frontlines Tech: The Type 2 Deployable Infantry Cover Apparatus, 'The Cover Sphere'.

_Developed in the late 2100's, the Alliance Type 2 Deployable Infantry Cover Apparatus, known as 'The Cover Sphere' by law enforcement agencies, Earth and Alliance militaries, the Cover Sphere was the Alliance's answer to the sudden realization of the possibility of alien environments not providing the adequate cover that could be found on Earth. Forged from a two inch thick 'cocktail' of precious metals, the Cover Sphere is the Alliance's answer to the question of portable, deployable cover. After being activated and thrown like a grenade, the Cover Sphere works by creating a (Human) chest-high wall, that has been proven effective against most small arms and military grade fire, though is weak against Armor Piercing rounds and larger explosives._

Turian Ghost Corps (Updated):

**_Classified Hierarchy Intel, password required:_**

...  
Accepted.

_During the Human War, the Ghost Corps was called upon once again, for the first time in centuries. The Ghosts immediately proved their worth as they turned the tide in many fields of war, however they met their match in the Alliance's response to the Turian Super Soldiers: The Human SIGMA Operatives. When the two factions would clash, victory for either side would be impossible to predict, and oftentimes would simply rely upon luck, as even an advantage in numbers didn't ever provide either side a guaranteed victory._

Project Dread (Updated):

**_Classified Hierarchy Intel, password required:_**

...  
Accepted.

_During the Human War, the Turian (Removed) were given the use of the Prothean Dreadnought, for which Project Dread was named. The Dreadnought proved its worth as it destroyed many a Human ship, and gave the legions of (Removed)s time to land upon Palaven and give support to the war effort.  
Its last known status is destroyed in combat, but its whereabouts are unknown (Presumed to be in Human Space.)_

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the Chapter, if you're looking for updates, check out my profile!  
If you're looking for different stories, check out some of my other work!  
Thanks for reading,  
ProfFartBurger_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

November 29th, 2201

* * *

John Doe S-1 sighed, deeply. He felt worried, being cooped up in the shuttle, still in transit from the 'Citadel' to the warfront above the Turian's homeworld. The worry he was feeling wasn't because of supplies, it mad more than enough food paste to feed SIGMA Alpha Squad, and the Turian Councilor, for two weeks, three if they rationed it out; no, John S1, the first _ever_ Human super soldier, and regarded as one of the best, was worried about the war. While in transit, in warp-space, it was completely possible to scan the areas you were running through at trans-light speeds, but you couldn't get any communications signals. So he had no idea how the war was going, if his people were winning, if they were losing, he _didn't know_, and that made him worried, and angry. He was angry at himself for not getting the job done faster, he - if _anyone - _knew that an entire battle - possibly even a campaign in a war! Maybe even the war itself! - could in fact be decided by one soldier's actions. But John S1 wasn't just a soldier, he was a super soldier. He was the first, he was the best. It was widely known that _no one_ had as much pride in his species, as John Doe S1. That pride, that love for his species, was almost forcing him to worry about what _could_ be happening, if he was on the battlefield, on the frontlines, charging the bases with the marines, breeching HVI strongholds with the N7, or disrupting supply lines with OD3's. He wondered how many casualties he could have changed or halted, if he'd been there on the front lines.

John looked to the Turian Councilor, 'Sparatus' was his name. The squad had gagged him the previous day, after he'd woken up and realized he'd been taken. Despite his position, he still managed to retain that damned dignity and pride, that had caused him to enter this situation in the first place. The Turian noticed he was being looked at, and stared at John in return. John had already questioned the Turian thoroughly, and while he did get some information, his squad's AI had informed him that all he'd learned was general information, that the Councilor had attempted to 'protect' to make it seem valuable.

"Lieutenant?" Said a voice, John looked from Sparatus to Jess S-62, she still wore her armor, but her helmet - like most of the squad's - had left her head long ago. John suspected that she held some sort of infatuation to him, but he never returned such feelings, his duty was always to his species first, his allies second, and everything else last. "AI's telling us we're leaving transit, soon."

John nodded, he got to his feet and put his helmet back upon his head. His visor frosted over a moment later, and he made his way to the pilot's seat of the small vessel they were traveling in.

* * *

_"Alright guys... We get this information, we find the guy we're looking for, we go home in time for Christmas."_ Said Edward Bill, leader of the six-man N7 squad that had taken the last two days to slowly make their way to an enemy base.

The Alliance had specifically left some military bases alone, both to make the Turians think they'd missed some, and to make sure there were some information centers that would remain intact. This one, according to their AI's, was one of the 'Top Secret' bases, used to train some faction of Turians known as 'Cabals', which were supposed to be the Turians that could use magic. The N7 squad's goals were simple, they had to make a hard-link into one of the base's terminals, so they could link it with the AI-Network, the AI's could could burn through the information, and find the Turian Hierarchy's leader, the 'Primarch of Palaven'. The N7 had an emergency attack beacon, that they could use to call in an airstrike from the Alliance Air and Space Force, and a quick-strike from the Orbital Dropping Death Dealers. Stealth, however, was the main goal, so they kept this in mind as they slowly reached the crest of the silver-grassed hill they'd been climbing.

Below them, they could see the military base, surrounded by hills and mountains, no doubt extending into and below some of them. It was relatively empty, but Dragon Drones had done a few recon flights over the area, and there were supposed to be fifty to a hundred Turians still here, most likely guarding their information terminals. The base was nondescript, but still alien in appearance, the walls had odd curves and holes in them, at points, and the barracks - if they indeed _were_ barracks - had a large spire sticking out of it. At first glance, it looked like a cell-phone tower, but it had no wires, it was just a large metal spire, sticking out of the building. Some of the N7 assumed it was just a Turian thing, much like wooden carvings of women on ships, back in the days of 'wooden navies' on Earth.

_"Okay... Slowly now, we've only one shot at this... Kennison, stay up here and provide overwatch."_ Bill ordered, as he slowly got to his feet. His entire squad had been cloaked for the last six minutes, and their power sources would last another fifty four if they didn't move too fast. Active camoflauge, while technically a completed invention, and used widely in the Special Forces, was still largely an experimental technology, as it became less effective if the user moved too fast, and would shatter entirely if the user fired too many rounds too fast. The N7 Squad - save for their sniper, Kennison - moved down the hill.

After several minutes of slowly crawling on their stomachs, five of the members of the N7 squad hit the wall of the Turian base. They'd learned from the Alliance Inteligence's multiple ventures into the Turian Internet, that most - if not, all - of their bases and buildings were made of metal, as precious metals were in abundance in Palaven, so much so that they still found new mines every few centuries. The team's demolitions expert pulled out a pair of tools that betrayed her title, they were a rather recent invention, of AI make, they were vibrating super-heated infiltration blades. In essence, they worked by vibrating at speeds so fast that, not only were the vibrations almost completely beyond the range of human eye detection, but the blades - which were usually one to two inches long - would become so hot, so quickly, that they could cut through steel like butter; when the point had been raised that the users could be injured when storing them, the AI's in charge of creation created the vibro-blade sheathe, which was made of two separate layers of a very sturdy metal, and had a cooling agent in between them. This not only sped up the cool-down process, but made it so that only the inner layer of the sheathe heated up.

_"Cut it."_ Ordered Bill, Susie nodded and activated the blades. Once they began glowing white hot, she immediately sunk them into the base's wall, and began the admittedly slow process of cutting an entrance. Several minutes passed, as Susie cut through the wall, but finally she did, and she caught the few inch thick wall before it would fall upon the ground with a loud thump.

_"Alliance Command... We're in."_ Bill reported, looking up into the night sky, he'd been told that an Alliance Frigate, loaded with a Hand of God, had been stationed in orbit above the base, in case they needed to make a quick, debilitating exit.

_"Roger that, Deviant Squad. Be advised: We are reading a slight trickle of heat signatures moving towards the base, from the far west. Advise you prepare for a full house."_ The ship's captain, Captain Tyson Finn, reported.

_"Understood. Deviant Squad out."_ Said Bill, after he moved inside the base, and replaced the wall as best he could. He marked the position with an electronic beacon, before he moved with his squad.

The squad moved quickly and efficiently through the base, they went cover to cover and never made unnecessary movements. Once or twice they thought their cover had been blown, but each time they'd been unspeakably lucky as the alien in question didn't find them. Bill moved with light footsteps, he and his squad stopped just before a flight of stairs. The air seemed still, and too quiet, but the Quarians _had_ informed them that Turian military bases kept non-lethal pesticides pumping at all hours of the day, which removed the bug element. But, Bill realized, there wasn't any breeze, either.

_"Sally, what can you make of this? Everything is going according to plan." _Bill whispered to the squad's AI, Sally, his instincts were screaming 'trap'.

_"I have looked into Palaven weather patterns, it turns out that all Turian Military Bases have special weather technology that allows them to cease weather patterns within a certain radius. This is to make a better environment for detecting intruders."_ The AI said, almost mutedly, into the squad's radio.

Bill nodded, and made the 'move forward' hand signal. The five N7's moved forward, albeit a bit more slowly now that they knew they had no wind or insect noise to cover their footsteps. Susie had marked a small building in the center of the base as the base's Command and Control Center, and by virtue of luck, this stairwell went right for it. After a few minutes passed, they moved past the stair case and entered the C3.

_"Whoa! Boss, I just lost your heat-sig!"_ The team's sniper reported, _"Hey, something's happening in the base!"_ He added, and just like that, the lights in the base - all of them - turned on immediately as an alarm started blaring. Bill looked back at the door and noticed what he hadn't before, the nearly imperceptible flicker of a concealed laser tripwire system. He cursed himself for being so stupid as to not look for that, as he and his squad jumped to their feet, and moved quickly through the C3.

_"Boss man, the base is lighting up! I think they were keeping soldiers in stasis, or all their buildings were thermally sealed, because our projected numbers have doubled!"_

_"Call in the OD3's."_ Ordered Bill, _"We need time."_ He looked to Susie, "Susie, booby trap the entrance, and then place mines all across our path, you have ninety seconds!" He commanded, the N7 nodded and moved quickly back over their path.

_"Sergeant, turn right, the terminal in the corner of the room should be what you are looking for."_ Sally reported.

"Got something on motion trackers!"

"Dig in, no one gets in here!" Bill ordered, as he moved to set up a link with the Alliance AI Network, to the terminal Sally had directed him to.

_"Boss, we've got OD3's leaping in. I also managed to call in a few Dragons to assist in the fight."_

_"Good job, Ken, start tearing 'em up."_

_"With pleasure."_

And just as Ken, outside, began firing his massive, suppressed rifle at the Turians who were securing their base, the Turians inside the C3 discovered Bill and his men, who coughed out a wall of fire with their suppressed rifles. A few Turians were caught unaware, but the others reacted quickly and conjured up their violet barriers to catch and deflect the Human bullets. The firefight quickly went loud as the Turians began firing from cover. The Humans were at a disadvantage, they were stuck in this concise room while the Turians had the entire base to move around in.

Of course, the Turians also had the disadvantage of having to deal with a pissed off N7 engineer, who began raining hell down upon the Turians with explosives, the second the alien forces got comfortable with their position. The Humans and Turians exchanged a brief, but brutal firefight, which resulted in two injuries, one of which was serious enough to warrant cell-fluid.

_"Damn boss, you need to see this..." _Said Kennison, with a barely contained awe.

_"Link your HUD with mine."_Bill ordered, and a moment later, he saw what the sniper saw.

Outside, legions of OD3's were landing and engaging the Turians, supported by a dozen Dragons that spit fire and bullets from the sky. The OD3's and the Turians were evenly numbered, but the Dragons turned the tide to the Humans' side, as they began tearing the Turians apart from their superior position. The Turians were slowly being suppressed and pushed back, as the Suicide Leapers began using their Powered Infantry Assault Armor to jump the walls and wreak havoc inside with close range weaponry.

_"Sergeant, the link has been made."_

"N7, lets move! We've got what we came for, lets leave the loud fights to the OD3's." Bill ordered, as he reengaged his cloak.

_"I think I chose the wrong line of work, last few days have been nothing but stealth espionage missions..."_ Bill heard Susie complain, but he knew it was in good humor.

* * *

The Citadel Naval vessel 'Sumir's Delight' (Named after Sumir, the Salarian that had perfected FTL travel) was moving through the final relay to Thessia. Ever since the fleet had entered Asari space, about a day ago, their radios had begun to malfunction, and nothing long-range would work. They'd stopped for a few hours at an Asari colony, but they lacked the supplies to fix their ships, so they would have to hope that the Thessian infrastructure hadn't collapsed to the point where radio and FTL communications couldn't be repaired.

"Captain, Relay Transit in five... four..."

"Battle stations, fleet wide." Ordered the Salarian ship's Captain.

"Two... One..." And with that, the ship gave the almost imperceptible lurch as it was propelled hundreds of light years a second. In just a few moments, they arrived at Asari home-space, and almost immediately the ship's engineers, communications officers, and scanners began reporting what they saw.

"Captain, no enemy contacts."

"No Weapons Heat remnants."

"Captain, the Thessian Defense Fleet is contacting us, they want to know why the entire Citadel Navy is appearing on their doorstep."

"Captain, an Asari Dreadnought just made contact, they've been trying to contact the Citadel for days but they haven't gotten anything."

"Captain, still no enemy contacts."

"The Turian ships are demanding what's going on."

"The Asari ships are asking if this was a training exercise..."

The captain sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment.

_No enemy contacts. Communications dead-zone... Thessian space silent for days... War... Humans? Silenced the comm-buoys? Perhaps... Would need advanced hacking technology... Heard reports of Humans using AI's... No, would have faced a rebellion by now... Quarian hackers? Yes... Yes!_

"It was a trick." The Captain stated.

"Fleet Watcher of the Bantha reports same thing." Said a communications officer.

"I'm getting communications from other Union Vessels, general consensus is that we were tricked by a Human distress message."

"Requesting permission to go back to the Citadel?"

"First, send a message to the Turian High Admiral and Matriarch Alensa... Either the Citadel, or the Turian Homeworld is under attack."

"Orders?"

"Request the _Sword_ to use executive authority. Turian and Asari ships - half - are to divert to Palaven. Everything and everyone else to the Citadel. Whomever _doesn't_ land on the scene of a massive naval battle is to move post-haste to assist those who do."

"Understood... Relaying."

* * *

Beneath the Citadel, in the slums known as the Foundations, a squad of five C-Sec officers and a single Spectre were moving the deepest any of them had ever been in the Citadel. Ever since Sparatus had disappeared, and the Citadel Fleet stopped reporting in, every possible threat was being taken with the utmost seriousness. Citadel Security had gotten reports of radiation in the foundations, and as such they sent five C-Sec officers, and one of the greatest - available - Spectres, who specialized in Engineering. The C-Sec officers were primarily Turians, though one Asari was present. The six of them had a nav-beacon they were heading to, with the Spectre's Omni-tool providing the light they needed in the darkened underbelly of the Citadel.

"So... Sjor, do you think it's just an Eezo leak?" Asked a C-Sec officer, of one of his comrades.

Sjor shook his head, "Can't be... The keepers would have fixed it by now." He explained, "I don't know what it is, if it set off Radiation sensors from _this_ deep in the Citadel... But I fear what it could be."

"What do you _think_ it is?"

Sjor shook his head, as the nav-beacon came into view, "I'd rather not say... For fear of my words being true." He said.

"We're here." Said the Spectre, as he sent out a drone to scout the area, the drone lit up the area nicely, and gave them the light they needed to look around.

Several minutes went by in silence, as they looked and scanned for radiation, or radiation producing materials. Some of the Turians were beginning to wonder if they'd been tricked, when the Spectre suddenly shut off both the drone and the Omni-tool, thrusting everyone into darkness.

"Spectre! What are you doing!?" Demanded a C-Sec, as he went to activate his Omni-tool.

_"No!"_ The Spectre ordered, _"No light!"_ He whispered, into the communicator, his urgent tone silenced the group.

"What is going on?" Asked the Asari.

_"We are being watched... I should have noticed it before, when everything became silent."_ The Salarian responded, _"Keep your voices low, your weapons drawn, and your Heads Up Displays powered on. If you can't recognize a target as friendly, take no chances. Scan close to the ground... I think I know what we're looking for..." _He paused, _"Set your scanners to look specifically for Nuclear Radiation."_ He ordered, slightly ominously.

_"Goddess..."_ Muttered the Asari, the Turians uttered similar things as they realized what the Salarian was referring to, Sjorn however, sighed, and turned around, to be greeted by a pair of glowing red eyes.

Sjorn froze, he'd seen reports on Humans, they said nothing about glowing eyes; no species in the known Galaxy had such eyes, save for the Geth, but they hadn't been outside of the Persius Veil in centuries. The being in front of him took a step back, acting in an animal-like way, much like a predator would protect his or her den. Sjorn, ever so slowly, moved his hand to his hip, if he could reach his pistol fast enough, he could end the creature and find out what it was protecting. Unfortunately for Sjorn, the Creature recognized what he was doing, and with an abnormally loud bark, it leapt onto the C-Sec, and started violently ripping into him with its razor sharp claws. Sjorn attempted to separate himself from the creature, but to no avail. As he frantically reached for his weapon, he saw that the creature wasn't actually a creature at all, rather a machine designed to look like a malformed Varren. When he brought his weapon under the creature's head, he pulled the trigger, and the bullet soared straight into the machine's head, and lodged itself there, just barely piercing the armor. Just as Sjorn realized that his pistol must not have had enough power to pierce its no doubt thick skull, the creature reached down and clamped its jaw around Sjorn's throat, before it violently jerked back and ripped it out, sending his blue blood all over it and allowing him to die a quick death through blood loss.

_"CONTACT!"_ Shouted a Turian, as almost immediately after Sjorn had died, the group had been surrounded by a sea of red eyes.

_"I found something!"_ Shouted the Asari, before a quick gasp as she opened fire upon the machines, _"It's a bomb! Spectre, call it in!"_ She ordered, as she biotically threw one machine into a few others.

The Salarian was frantically trying to hack into the machines and shut them down, or make them turn against each other, but he was always countered, and eventually he had to give up as he drew his shotgun.

_"Citadel Security, we are under attack by heavy enemy forces! We have discovered a nuclear device, you must evacuate the Council immediately, I repeat... You must - -"_ The ground itself shook, as a massive, ungodly roar filled the air. The Spectre turned around, and saw a colossal machine, it had to be twice - if not, _thrice -_ as tall as the Salarian. As it hefted some sort of rifle off of its back, the only thing running through the Spectre's mind was: _How could they have smuggled something so large onto the Citadel?_

* * *

"I want an update, and I want one immediately." Sbjorn Septin, the Primarch of Palaven said, simply, as he and his advisors met once again.

"Our cyber-warfare engineers have yet to crack through the Human defenses, and get at our communications buoys. Anything more than helmet-to-helmet is still being jammed." Said one advisor.

"The Ghosts were successfully deployed, and have been almost universally successful -"

_"Almost?!" _Demanded Septin.

"The Humans seem to have their own Ghosts... Whenever a Turian Ghost team makes a move, a Human Ghost is able to seriously hinder their progress... It seems that our Ghosts have an advantage in numbers and skill, but the Human Ghosts are much, _much_ more brutal... It also seems that the Humans know of our advantage in numbers of Ghosts... Whereas two days ago our Ghost Platoons would be met in force with platoons of Human Ghosts, now it seems the Humans are spreading their ghosts out as far as they can, to maximize their effectiveness." The advisor explained, "Also... Whenever our Ghosts go up against the Human Ghosts... It is literally impossible to predict which side will come out the victor. Several times the thinned out Human Ghosts have defeated Turian Ghosts, the latter of whom used their numerical advantage." He continued, "But at the same time, the very same has happened to Human forces. Numerically disadvantaged Turian Ghosts can outwit or defeat Human Ghosts..." He finished.

"We must figure out why this is." Septin ordered, "But we must move on... What else is happening?"

"The Humans have held onto all of the cities they've invaded... We've tried many times - with Ghost included - to break through their defensive lines, but they own the orbit, and make extensive use of manned and unmanned aerial drones to drive our gunships and fighters away. Their strategy is quite simply, and clever, but debilitating. When we make movements to counter-invade a city, they launch an all-out defensive assault. Their air forces dominate the air, and their mechs and ground forces hold the line, as their orbital marines and stealth forces drop or sneak in behind us to destroy our supply lines and wreak havoc."

"If we _know_ their strategy, why can we not _counter_ it?!" Demanded Septin.

"Because our forces... They cannot adapt to it! We've already been irreparably weakened because of the Humans' initial assault, which took out at least half of our military bases, and nearly destroyed hundreds more... Even with the civilian armies, many of them are either too young to have enlisted, or have been out of the forces for so long that they are rusty in skill." The advisor responded, "And... the Humans destroy the supply lines, and surround and starve our soldiers. Then they attack while our soldiers are weakened and their victory is assured! When we attempt to destroy them, our forces are struck blind by dead corpses laced with bombs, traps designed to maim but not kill, and so many unorthodox strategies, that we simply have not yet been able to counter them!" The advisor explained, "And when we think we can rest easy, when we think we can contain the Humans, they evacuate some of their forces and drop them somewhere else! Another city, bombed to ruins by their orbital weapons, and then burned to the ground by their forces."

"So... What are you saying, the Humans are waging not a war of destruction, but of attrition? Why hasn't the Citadel Navy come to help us yet? Palaven has been silent for _more _than two entire days!" The Primarch declared, "Without the Citadel Navy, the attrition war the Humans are waging may actually work! They can send ships home to their _cursed_ Earth and bring back ammunition, supplies, and fresh troops. But we are stuck here on Palaven, as they bomb our food supplies, burn our cities, and slaughter our soldiers! We need to make a push, for _one_ city... We need to board _one_ ship, and we need to contact the Citadel using _their _technology -" An explosion, following the ground being shaken, interrupted the Primarch. His Ghosts in the room immediately leapt to their feet and surrounded the military advisors.

_"We've got a breech! Enemy personnel incoming!"_ Shouted someone from the communicator, _"These soldiers are _Spectre_ in skill! I repeat: _Spectre!"

"Protect the Primarch!" Shouted one of the Ghosts, as he and his squad shouldered their weapons, "The Human Ghosts have arrived!" He informed them, ominously.

* * *

Jin Funal of the Turian Ghost Corps was cleaning his rifle. He'd heard from the FSGT's that the Humans were fierce warriors, _especially_ the larger ones with the odd helmets, but he never believed them. The toughest fight he'd ever been in was during the Vorcha War, centuries earlier. But now that he'd fought them, he knew now that 'fierce warriors' was doing the Humans _no_ justice. Over exaggerating their skill in battle, wouldn't do them enough justice. The Humans were ferocious on the battlefield, the larger ones - who _had_ to be the Human equivalent of a Ghost - were the toughest of them all. He'd fought one, their battle had quickly gone from ranged to hand-to-hand, and Jin had never experienced anything like it. The centuries of simulated battles couldn't have prepared him for what the Human did. Jin would openly admit, he had a grudging respect for whomever trained the Human Ghosts, whatever they did, both on the operating table, and off it, _worked_.

Now, inside the base holding some of the most important people on Palaven, Jin knew two things. One: He was in for the toughest fight of his life; and two: He and the six Ghosts were going to be overwhelmed. There was no way in hell that the Humans would attempt to attack the Turian Primarch, without sending legions of their best soldiers. So Jin readied his weapon, and waited for the inevitable. A few moments passed, and the door to the room exploded. The ghosts inside fired non-stop at the door, immediately suppressing the enemy beyond. They shifted fire every thirty shots, half would fire until their weapons overheated, then the other half would fire. They did this consecutively for a full two minutes, before they finally decided to pause their fire.

"You! Check it out!" Ordered Jin, of the Ghost nearest to the door, who nodded and stepped forward, to have his body peppered with bullets from a large-caliber machine gun from beyond the door.

_"MOVE IN!"_ Shouted someone in an odd language, and the second the bullets stopped flying into the Primarch's room several seven and a half foot tall aliens, in varying degrees of armor, all surged into the room. The first two found the first two Turian Ghosts and slammed their weapons into the faces of said Ghosts, before they attempted to snap their necks. The Ghosts responded by jerking away, but when they went to attack the Humans, they were painted in gunfire as the Human soldiers who stayed outside the room picked shots and executed them perfectly.

Jin himself was quickly caught in a fight for his life, as he fought the biggest and burliest of the Humans. The Human lifted his weapon to catch Jin's knife and stop it dead, he then slammed his boot into Jin's chest, leaving a dent in his armor. Jin stumbled back a few inches, which gave the Human enough time to level his massive weapon and point it at the Ghost.

_"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" _He ordered, his helmet broadcasting the words in the Turian language, _"HANDS ON YOUR HEAD, AND DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!"_ He shouted, Jin looked around, the entire room - save for the Primarch, who had been spared - was pointing weapons at him.

Jin stayed silent for a moment. He felt his pistol on his hip, and he knew it was loaded with anti-shield rounds. If he moved fast enough, he could dispatch one, _maybe_ two before the Humans overwhelmed him with gunfire. So after taking a deep breath, he did. He whipped out his pistol and took aim at a Human throat, he pulled the trigger once, and it sailed into his shields. The human' shields flared a brilliant gold as Jin's weapon's projectiles slammed into them, and did nothing else, Jin realized too late that anti-shield rounds were designed for kinetic barriers, not the Human shields. The Human responded to his action by pulling the trigger of his cannon, and tearing the Ghost apart.

_"Target aquired!"_ Shouted one of the aliens.

"What do you want with me!?" Demanded the Primarch, as he was hand-cuffed and dragged through his bunker, which was now littered with dead Turians. The Primarch was greeted with silence, as the aliens continued to drag him through the bunker, through it all, he at least noticed they were being civil about it, as civil as an abduction can be, anyways. "Why are you slaughtering my people!?" He demanded.

"Because you slaughtered ours." Said one of the Humans.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! Decisions about the Turian military - beyond Turian territory - is left up to the Citadel Council!" Angrily responded the Primarch.

"Then you have to place your faith in someone else. You ever come across that guy once in a while, you shouldn't have fucked with?" Asked the alien, before looking at the Primarch dead in the eye, the Primarch felt shivers go down his spine as he looked into the odd construction of the alien's helmet, "That's us!" He said, with a ferocity that told the Turian that he _meant_ it.

* * *

In the Turian Forward Operating Base, just outside Palaven's capital city, Menan, General Irshan Corenthil was going over battle reports. The Humans and Turians were essentially locked in a stalemate. The Turians had an immense numerical advantage against the Humans, but the Humans weren't budging in any territory they held. The Humans fought with an unforeseen - but admittedly genious - tactic, that boiled down to almost literally _starving_ the Turian forces out of their positions. The Turians had stores of food, grenades, weapons and such, but each time they attacked the Humans, or vice versa, those stores suffered. The Weapons and grenades were used to attack, and the food would be eaten when the attack succeeded or failed, and the Humans knew this, so whenever a supply convoy came from one of the areas on 'Free Palaven', the Humans launched intense guerilla attacks upon them, and would destroy the majority of the supplies heading to the Turians. The fighting on Palaven had only been going on for a total of three days - going on four! - and the Turians were losing supplies at insane rates. Whenever the Humans weren't defending what they stole from the Hierarchy, their orbital supremacy was abused as they hunted down and destroyed infrastructure points, agricultural and food storage places, military bases, all kinds of important targets. Corenthil had realized long ago that the Humans must have - one some level - known that an extended occupation of Palaven would be impossible, so they instead were attempting to cripple Palaven's infrastructure, and, once they left - which _had_ to be soon, according to the General's advisors - Palaven would descend into chaos as the Turians fought for control, resources, food, whatever the Humans _hadn't_ destroyed.

Corenthil shook his head, as he thought of the Humans destroying their resources. They were using _illegal_ tactics, to fight this war! Their ships were almost constantly launching orbital strikes upon their cities, or their infrastructure points, or whatever they thought was an important target. Their spirits-cursed mechs were almost constantly replacing their dead, and during the nights they had stealth crews that went onto the battlefields and recovered their dead corpses, even the ones the Hierarchy's forces had recovered for their own use! This destroyed their chances of replicating Human technology, and using it against them. All the Humans hadn't yet been able to recover were the vehicles they used to fly through the atmosphere, and land without injury, and a few of their weapons, though Corenthil had a sneaking suspicion that they were _letting_ them have this technology. Corenthil's only advantage, which he was planning to use _very_ soon, was the sudden introduction of a new Special Forces group. All he'd been cleared by High Command to know, was that these were only to be known as 'Ghosts', and for the entirety of this war, they would be assisting him in any way possible. He planned on fielding these special forces immediately, as he was consolidating his - admittedly starving - forces for a massive push into Menan; if he could conquer the city and take it back for the Hierarchy, the victory in and of itself would _prove_ that, despite popular belief, the Humans weren't undefeatable.

_"General!"_ Called a FSGT, "You need to hear this!" He shouted, as he ran into Corenthil's tent, and activated his Omni-tool. The FSGT's had managed to hijack the Human transmissions and use them to boost their long-range communications, but they could only receive orders and communiques, any attempt to broadcast would more than likely trip the overly-sensitive Human Cyber-Warfare Soldiers' alarms.

_"Attention to all Turian First Strike Ground Troopers in the vicinity of Menan, if you can hear this - if anyone can hear this - the Primarch has just been abducted by enemy forces and is being transported to your sector."_ A voice broadcasted, and not a moment later, a deafening roaring sound tore through the air, Corenthil whipped around and saw an enormous Human Ship exiting an enormous hole opened up in the sky, the ship burst forth from it, it's turrets and it's weapons began picking Turian Aerial targets as it settled above the city, and all the engines around the ship immediately began working to keep it in the air, _"The shuttle that is stealing the Primarch was tagged by a Special Forces operative as it was taking off, all FSGT's are hereby ordered to either force it to land, or failing that, destroy the shuttle. The enemy forces can **not** take the Primarch!"_ Said the deep, flanged voice of Palaven High Command.

"I see the shuttle!" Shouted an FSGT, as the shuttle appeared on their HUDs.

"All squads, all vehicles, we're moving in now! Everyone mount up and focus fire! Get that thing brought down!" Corenthil ordered, he put a monocle-HUD on his eye, the shuttle was a _long_ ways away, but his HUD informed him that it would take about five or so minutes to arrive in Menan.

The alarm in the base began to sound, _"General! The Humans are attacking!"_ Shouted someone in the short-range radio.

"Hold your ground!" The General ordered, "Don't let the Humans through! Watch your backs, they've no doubt sent some of the orbit-jumpers back so they can confuse us!" He advised, "Don't forget our objective! We need to save the Primarch!" He ordered.

In response, every Turian Marine, Turian vehicle, and every heavy weapon that wasn't currently holding the FOB's perimeter, was aimed at the Human vessel and fired. The vessel seemed to know that it was being fired upon, because almost immediately it switched from a rotor-based flight system, to a propulsion based one, as the rotors retracted into it's tilting wings, and it's engines flared, before it bolted forward and up, leaving the projectiles that were being fired at it - even the ones leading the ship - to miss it.

As the Turians fired upon the vessel, the Humans fired upon the Turians. There was an immense battle going on at the FOB's perimeter. The Humans must have known that their allies had taken the Primarch, and were attacking the Turians to keep them confused. The Turians weren't allowing them to confuse them any more, whatever reason they needed the Primarch, they wouldn't allow them to do so. The Turians at the perimeter put their foot down and refused to budge, the Humans' first attempt to breech the Turians' defensive line was met with an overwhelming Ghost strike, which pushed them back. Immediately after pushing them back, the Ghosts began advancing, paving the way for the Turian FSGT's to follow. The Humans responded by falling back a few meters, to allow their enormous mechs and their special forces troopers to halt the Ghost advance.

The Turian FSGT's immediately noticed the tell-tale features of the Human Special Forces soldiers. The Humans with the odd helmets, golden visors, and increased height had quickly become known among Turian forces as 'Devil Troopers', due to their almost supreme ferocity on the battlefield, and their skill being matched only by the Ghost forces, who quickly halted their advance to engage the Devils. As the Devils and the Ghosts dueled, the FSGT's and the Human Marines attacked each other, each side taking losses but neither side truly gaining any ground over the other. The true advantage for the Humans came as the large, lumbering machines came into play. The ones with six legs started skittering through the Human lines and blasting the Turians with their laser-based weaponry, the shelled ones started tearing into them with large machine guns and their magnetic weaponry, and the enormous, human-looking ones started crashing through the battlefield, using their guns both as projectile and melee weapons. All the heavy weapons not focused on the Primarch's abductors, were immediately focused upon the Human Mechs.

"Target locked, firing!" Shouted a Turian, before he fired his target-seeking missile launcher. The projectile burst forth and flew through the air, flying directly for the Primarch's vessel. Other FSGTs, with other target-seekers, did the same with theirs, but the vessel seemed far too nimble, and it deployed some sort of gray cloud whenever the missiles got too close, this cloud quite simply shut the missile's propulsion systems off, and the missiles fell to the ground.

"Stand your ground! Suppress the enemy, but keep focusing fire on that shuttle!"

"The enemy is getting aerial reinforcements from the ship!"

These words rung true, the ship began pouring out small fighters, Corenthil assumed they had to be drones, because they were _far_ too small to be piloted by any sort of Turianoid life form. "The drones are swarming the Aerial Guard!" Declared another marine, as the Drones launched dozens upon dozens of miniature missiles, which flared to life and sought out other Turian fighters, before detonating in massive explosions that betrayed the size of the missile itself.

"Firing target seeker!" Said another marine, before his launcher roared with another missile being fired. It soared through the air, moving directly for the Primarch's shuttle, which was getting dangerously close to the ship's shuttle bay. The missile evaded the enemy drones, and managed to survive the few bullets that scratched it's surface, and when the shuttle deployed it's cloud, the missile was going far too fast for it to simply plummet to the ground, and it slammed into the shuttle's tail. The shuttle began spinning out of control, and jut barely missed the shuttle bay's mouth. Corenthil was about to make an order to push forward, and _find_ the shuttle, when he saw all of the Human drones almost instantaneously shift course for the out of control shuttle. The Drones almost literally slammed themselves into it, to halt its momentum, and then started piling under it to propel it upwards. The strategy was genious, Corenthil would admit, and it also suggested some sort of hive-mind for the drones, which sounded _far_ too similar to the Geth for Corenthil's liking.

_"Fire on those drones!"_ Corenthil ordered, his orders weren't needed as the reloaded heavy weapons took aim and fired, and a mass of missiles surged forth, heading for the veritable cloud of Human drones. But the ship the Humans had attempted to retreat to, wouldn't allow the missiles to hit them. Some sort of missile-defense system activated, and turrets on the sides of the ship began firing at blinding rates and speeds, and started destroying the missiles as they got closer and closer. Corenthil clenched his fist as he saw the numbers of missiles dwindle, and nearly jumped for joy when one of them made it through and headed right for the drones, but something Corenthil didn't expect happened. The shuttle, the one they had shot down, one of its doors exploded off its hinges, and Corenthil could just barely see a Human standing there, he thought it was one of the Devil Troops, but he couldn't be sure. The Human removed some sort of device from within the shuttle, and took aim. The missile was getting closer and closer, and it was outrunning the drones that were trying to catch it. The Human waited, and finally it did something Corenthil couldn't see, but could tell its effects. The drones that the Human was pointing its weapon at all suddenly exploded, as if their circuits had been overloaded and destroyed, and the missile's propulsion systems simply shut down, causing it to fall straight to the ground, before it detonated on impact, leaving the shuttle unharmed, as the drones underneath it worked tirelessly to maneuver it inside. After a few more moments, the shuttle was inside, and the ship tore another hole in the sky, and made to move through it.

"The ship is retreating!"

"Tanks! Fighters! Fire on the ship's engines!" Ordered Corenthil, as every tank and fighter in and above the city turned their guns and fired shot after shot at the ship, the Human ground troops were trying to distract them, but their job wasn't working as the tanks and aerial fighters shot round after round into the ship's engines. This ship apparently didn't have kinetic barriers, or whatever the reports from other fields of war said the Human ships protected themselves with, as the rounds and missiles slammed home and did damage to its engines. The ship began shuddering violently, from the effort of fighting Palaven's gravity and staying in the air.

_"It's working!"_ Shouted Corenthil, "Keep firing!" He ordered, as the tanks and fighters did just that.

The ship began making its way through the hole in the sky, it made it half way through before one of its engines simply exploded, laving it with only one to push it through. The hole in the sky began to waver, violently, but it stayed as the ship continued through it, though at half speed. Finally, despite a valiant effort on the Turians' end, the ship made it through the portal and disappeared.

* * *

"Admiral, Director, the Sanhoover just warped out of Palaven's atmosphere. She's reporting severely damaged thruster engines, and an overheated Warp Drive." Reported a crewman, aboard the SSV _Piked Shield_.

"The Turian leaders?" Asked Jason Whyte, "What of them?"

"Yes sir, their 'Primarch', and their Councilors are both in our custody. The Frigate is returning to orbit and the SIGMA Team with the councilor is moving to the _Annihilation_ as we speak."

"Alright..." Said the Director, "Tell our forces to begin bunkering down. The Aggressive negotiations are about to begin, and if they go well, we're leaving." He stated,

"Yes sir." Said the crewman.

"Admiral..." Whyte looked to the ship's captain, and the Alliance's High Admiral, "I'm off to the _Annihilation_ to get ready for my chat with the Turian leaders... Send word to Battle Group seven, and _Luna's Presence..._ Operation WHIP is a go. " He stated, solemnly.

"Yes sir… Are you _sure_?" Asked the Admiral, "It isn't too late..."

"I am. The Citadel refused to make peace with us, on agreed upon terms... Now we must force them to see our terms, and our power." Whyte said, "Let it be known... The actions I am about to take are things I will never recover from... I will never forgive myself... But in the end..." He shook his head, "Even I won't know if I was justified." He finished, as he turned to leave the ship, "Once this war is over… I'm going to retire… Go to Eden, settle down." He said, a tone of somber in his voice, before he nodded, and exited the _Shield's_ bridge, and made his way to board a shuttle for the _Annihilation_.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N:_

_Thanks to everyone who put up with my week-long break. _

_Without further ado, we're off!_

* * *

Chapter 16

November 29th, 2201

* * *

Asari and Salarian Councilors Tevos, and Eistan, were working frantically. For days now, the Citadel fleet - which had seemingly fled the Citadel, under Council orders - had been silent, and made no status updates or reports to the Citadel itself. The two Councilors, ever since Sparatus' abduction, had been fearing an imminent Human attack, a fear that now was _much_ more pressing, now that nearly all of the Council's Navy had been sent away to Thessia, under orders no doubt forged by Humans and their AI.

Tevos worried for her home, among other things. Thessia had been silent for days now, whereas all of the Turian planets were reporting, business as usual. She feared the possibilities, she didn't know if the Humans were attacking Asari worlds, to make a point for the Turians, or if they were bombarding any Council world they could find, to make a point to everyone. Eistan had tried to use reason, to tell her that attacking Thessia would be illogical, and its continued silence was more than likely a Human ploy; his words had indeed helped to assuage her fears, but they still remained, this _was_ the species that launched a nuclear weapon at the Citadel, and was wise enough to use the nebula surrounding the station, as a means to convey the weapon's Electro Magnetic Pulse. That act alone, showed that the Humans were very tactically thinking, when it came to war and battle, who was to say that they weren't strategically capable of attacking multiple homeworlds at once?

Tevos paused, her thoughts were running away from her. She moved a hand that she didn't even realize was shaking, and rubbed her aching forehead; she'd been a councilor for centuries, but she'd never had to have worried of a war on _this_ scale, the stress was beginning to work its way into her mind. Tevos took a deep breath, and held it for a moment, before she exhaled, and looked at the facts, perhaps a neutral, calmer perspective would give her new insight?

_Okay..._ She thought, as she looked at the numerous data-pads and files that were spread across the large conference table, she and Eistan sat at, _It all began when Sparatus gave the order to attack the Human colony... At the time, he thought it was a Quarian outpost... Despite an extreme numerical disadvantage, the Humans fought to the last man... And eliminated many a Turian soldier... A squad of Humans managed to send a message to their 'Earth', before the Turians could realign a Relay and begin their attack._ She summarized, _Sparatus, at the time, had been assured by one of the admirals... Admiral... Valast... That the ensuing battles would be won within days... And the Humans surprised, and brutalized the Turian Navy, leaving no ships to escape..._ She thought, _Then, they sent a Quarian here, to attempt for peace... Said peace was ruined, when Sparatus ordered an attack on the Envoy, after a - Human, no doubt - AI arrived and began speaking... The Human ship that brought the envoy launched a nuclear missile at the Citadel, and used the nebula surrounding it, as a means to convey its electromagnetic pulse... After fleeing, we've heard little from them... Until the 'Insurance' Humans came, and abducted Sparatus..._ She paused, _So why would they invade Thessia?_ She wondered, _Attacking Thessia makes no sense, in any possible way... And they even sent the Navy to Thessia... So..._ It finally clicked, and she smiled, in spite of herself, days of worried guessing had brought her no results, but three minutes of calm, collected surveying, and she understood it. _They silenced the comm-buoys in Thessian Space, and sent the Navy to Thessia... After which, they attacked - or are_ still attacking! -_ a Turian planet... But where?_ She asked herself.

The Salarian Councilor Eistan, on the other hand, was working furiously on other matters entirely. Ever since he'd woken days earlier, he'd been working on predicting Human battle strategies, and attempting to send in pre-emptive strikes against Human Space, using the nano-machines the STG had placed upon the Human ship to locate it. They'd stopped functioning days ago, but he still had a recorded location, and therefor a place to start. He'd sent a legion of two hundred FTL Spy-Drones - a rather recent invention, of STG origin - towards the Human systems, but ran into a problem when they literally found no relays pointing into Human space. Where the Relay network _clearly_ showed that Relays were supposed to be located where the Spy Drones were looking, the Salarians were finding nothing. This meant that the Humans had either done what the Union had deemed 'too resource-expensive to attempt', and _moved_ a Mass Relay, or that the Spy Drones' VI's were severely malfunctioning, and they were failing to recognize it.

Both of the Councilors were interrupted, when their door swished open quickly, and several SPECTREs came rushing through it. "Councilors, we must evacuate you, immediately!" Said an Asari SPECTRE, Tevos recognized her as 'Tela Vasir', a Spectre with a near-century of experience.

"What is going on?" Asked Tevos, as she accepted the SPECTRE's outstretched hand and got to her feet,

"The Citadel is under attack!" Vasir bellowed, as she dragged her out of the room, followed by another Spectre, doing much the same to Eistan. Tevos thought she could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance.

"What is going on, specifically, Spectre Vasir?" Asked Tevos, a bit more forcefully than last.

Vasir sighed, "We detected radiation warnings in the foundations, when C-Sec went to investigate, they found an _enormous_ Nuclear Device, with a legion of unmanned, Varren attack drones guarding it. The moment the drones were discovered, they attacked and have since been attempting to take over the Citadel." Tevos' eyes widened at this news, not only was there a nuclear device on the Citadel, but there were drones, ruthlessly attacking and killing C-Sec operatives!

"How far are the mechs from here? From the Presidium Tower?" She asked.

Vasir paused for a moment, and before she could speak, a Salarian SPECTRE spoke for her, "The Varren-mechs, at their current speed, will arrive here in seven minutes. _But_ we must move right now, as there is another mech entirely, that is covering ground much more quickly, and could arrive here in as little as seventy eight seconds."

"What about civilians? What is C-Sec doing?" Eistan demanded.

"The mechs are avoiding Civilians, but anyone who attacks them is treated with ruthless efficiency... We've got to get you out of here as soon as possible, because they're all heading _directly _for the Presidium Tower!" Vasir stated.

"Goddess..." Said Tevos, as she, Eistan, and the increasingly numerous squad of SPECTREs ascended the Presidium Tower's emergency staircase.

Without warning, the building began shaking, Vasir's eyes widened, and she ordered the Spectres and Councilors to climb faster. It did little help, however, because after a few moments, the shaking became so violent, that they couldn't move without falling over themselves. An enormous fist then suddenly slammed into the wall - the _metal_ wall, Tevos realized with a horrifying suddenness - and tore it off. The face that was then revealed was hideous, but was distinctly Asari in physical similarity, however this looked more masculine than an Asari could be. It was painted with some sort of non-reflective black material, it had two eyes, a mouth, and - despite the apparent _lack_ of a need for one - a nose. It's mouth and nose were covered by some sort of retractable face-plate, and it's eyes flashed bright red for a moment, as it scanned the staircase.

Acting with that ingrained SPECTRE training, Vasir and the other biotic SPECTREs launched a flurry of biotic attacks that would make even a Justicar look twice. The machine simply activated it's shields and shrugged off the violent attacks, Tevos had to admit she found some sort of inherent beauty in the shields, as they rippled like water, and flared golden-orange when struck by Vasir.

_"PRIMARY TARGET ACQUIRED, ENGAGING."_ Screamed the robot, in a language Tevos couldn't understand, but with a tone and volume that would would rival an Elcoor's deep voice. The machine reared it's head reared back, and slammed into the building, creating more room for it to maneuver. A moment later, several varren-like creatures ran up it's back and shoulders and entered the stairwell. The dozens of Spectres were outnumbered the machines, and after they yanked the Councilors behind them, they opened fire, indiscriminately shooting anything in front of them that their guns could hit. Several of the Varren were destroyed before one of the Spectre's guns overheated, and then another's overheated, and before they knew it, they were being attacked on all sides by the Varren. The Varren, however, were countered by many of the SPECTREs, using a variety of methods and attacks, the Salarians used tech-attacks to overwhelm and overload their systems.

The hulking machine that had stuck itself to the side of the building, however, outright ignored many of the biotic, tech, or ballistic attacks that went its way. It reared its head back again, and slammed it into the building once more. This time, it wasn't reinforced by more Varren creatures, it had instead made room for one of its arms, upon which, a massive weapon was fastened. The machine roared and raged, making further room where there wasn't. The SPECTREs fired at it, aiming for anything that looked important, but the machine's armor and shields proved to be too thick and too strong, respectively. The machine finally made enough room for itself to effectively aim its wrist-mounted cannon, and proceeded to take aim and fire in bursts at the SPECTREs. The biotic SPECTREs made barriers that deflected many of the bullets, but the machine responded by firing fully automatically, quickly overwhelming the biotic barriers, and killing many of the SPECTREs at the front of the pack.

Eistan and Tevos were quickly pushed to the back, and a few SPECTREs attempted to force them up the stairs, but the machine was once again joined by the Varren mechs, which intercepted the SPECTREs and stopped them in their tracks. After a few more minutes passed, the combined efforts of the hulking machine, and the Varren mechs successfully incapacitated or killed the SPECTREs, and left the Council defenseless.

"What do they want?" Asked Eistan, in his characteristically fast Salarian dialect, after the Varren settled for simply circling the group, like the animals they were designed to look like.

"Why aren't they opening fire?" Asked a surviving SPECTRE, who was busy putting pressure on her wounds.

"Vasir did you detect any ships, any enormous ships entering Citadel space?" Tevos asked of Vasir, who was alive but whose arm was bleeding freely.

"No Councilor, just the Varren Mechs, and the bomb. The Citadel fleet hasn't returned yet."

"So what do we do?" Demanded Tevos, as one machine eyed her specifically, "The machines could kill us at any moment!"

_"That... Is where you are wrong, my dear Councilors."_ Said a new voice, after the hulking machine gagged out some sort of small, floating metal machine, and then leapt off of the building to wreak more havoc, _"Hello, Councilors."_ Said the machine, as a holographic depiction of a Human appeared, _"I have time enough for… Five questions, before the show starts."_ His words were being broadcasted in Kehlish, and translated by the Council's translators, but Tevos and everyone present _knew_ that this being wasn't a Quarian. _"TITANs, please escort the Council to their quarters..." _He ordered, as an afterthought, almost immediately, the Varren mechs began herding the SPECTREs and the Council, down the stairs, and into an out of the way, but still accessible room, Tevos noted the rather large vid-screen hung on the wall.

"Who are you?" Asked Tevos, after she situated herself, and her SPECTREs sat themselves on the ground, keeping the Varren away from the Councilors.

_"Question one: Who am I. I am Jason Whyte, Director for the Human Systems Alliance. In other words, I am the leader for the over-arching banner for the Human race."_ Said the Human.

"Why did you attack the Citadel with mechs and place a nuclear device on it?"

_"Question two: Why did we attack. As you are aware, Councilors, your kind have wronged my species, and our newest allies, the Quarians. The latter of whom, you have wronged many… Many times in the past."_ Said the Human, _"I am attacking the Citadel, to keep you on it. You see, as we speak, I am on a shuttle for an Alliance Dreadnought, the 'Beautiful Annihilation', and once there, I shall begin negotiations with the Palaven Primarch and the Turian Councilor, for a cessation of all hostilities."_ He explained, _"Should hostilities end, I will _give_ you the codes to disarm the Nuke. However… IF he refuses to end hostilities… The first time, I shall change the face of a Turian world... Forever. A second time, and the Citadel will cease to exist. You see, the nuclear weapon I've had placed upon your station is a planet-shaker class. Simply put, these are nuclear weapons designed to destroy so much that the entire planet will be unrecognizable upon detonation. In other words, they're made to level, entire sections of planets."_ He finished.

"Goddess…" Said Tevos, "If that were detonated here…"

_"There wouldn't be any station left to salvage."_ Supplied the Human, _"Yes._"

"Why would you make such a weapon? When would you expect to have to use it?"

The Human paused, _"Several hundred years ago, mankind made his _first_ atomic bomb. It was during a time where our entire planet was drowned in warfare, and the need for it's creation was_ intense." He explained, _"However... As much as we knew about it, there were many things we didn't know, and couldn't predict.__ Many believed that if we deployed it, it would have set fire to Earth's very atmosphere, but we did it anyway. The nation that used the weapon _needed_ to use it, not only to end a war, but as a show of power. So they could declare with one voice that they are _not_ a force to be trifled with."_ He explained, _"We employ the same idea, here. Your technology is, in a sense, far more advanced than ours. But in that same sense, we are more advanced than you. Our weapons completely circumvent the shields your people rely upon, and utterly pierce the limited armor you use, our AI's can overwhelm yours in micro seconds, and our fighting strategies are so unorthodox that your armies can't adapt. Despite all this, I know, as well as my entire race, that if you truly wanted to, you could defeat us. It would take time, effort, and lots of bodies, but you could beat us. That is why, I decided that, as a show of force, and if - and _only_ if - your Turian Councilor refuses to cease hostilities, we will drop a Planet Shaker on a Turian world."_

"You may as well destroy the planet itself, Human, dropping even a single bomb of your suggested yield would destabilize the entire planet. Not to mention the Nuclear radiation…" Said Eistan.

_"Less than two hundred years ago our most powerful nation's capital was hit with a Nuclear Strike. In response, the nations of Earth poured trillions of dollars in R&D into terraforming technologies. If the Turian refuses, we _will_ bomb their world. More than likely, after he sees we aren't bluffing, he will submit. The moment he does, we will undo as much damage as we can."_

"Why are you telling us this? First you tell us you have the power to destroy all our homeworlds, then you tell us we have the theoretical power to destroy you, then you tell us you are not bluffing and _will_ bomb Palaven, and then you tell us you will undo the damage you have done when and if Sparatus agrees to end the war… Is contradiction a part of your society? Of your nature?" Demanded a horrified Tevos.

_"Councilor, one thing you will learn about Humans, is that we are the single most contradictory race you will ever meet. We will eternally claim to embrace and preach peace, but… As you can see… If pushed to war, we will hold _nothing_ back. It is an ideology we adopted from one of Earth's most prosperous nations… Support and Preach peace, but when pushed to war, demonstrate with horrifying consequences that you are the best at it."_ Said the Human.

"Why can you not just leave us? You have burned through the Hierarchy's military, have shown that you can hit the Citadel whenever you wish, with horrifying consequences… Why are you bringing things so far? Why are you willing to irreparably damage a species' homeworld just to prove your might?" Demanded Tevos.

In response, the Human's image changed from him, to an image of an enormous crater, with an equally enormous number underneath it.

_"This is why. Good day, Councilors."_

* * *

_"Director, SIGMA Alpha Team has arrived, they are bringing the Turian Councilor to the Interrogation room."_

"Have you hooked up into the Council's communications networks?"

"Yes, it seems that the galactic form of communication is, simply put, the same. These 'comm buoys' are used everywhere, by everyone. I and several other Flagship AI's have integrated ourselves within these networks, with one command we can effectively shut down the Galaxy's communications networks. With another, we can override everything everyone sees, and show them what we wish them to see."

"Good, start streaming when I enter the room." Said Whyte, as he traversed the ship.

Several minutes passed before he entered the interrogation room, in which he could hear several loud voices. Whyte keyed his translator to translate Turian, and listened before he entered the room.

_"…-Idea what you are doing! I am a Councilor for the Citadel Council! You are signing your entire species' death warrant with this act, Human!"_ Shouted the flanged voice of a Turian.

_"You signed yours when you bombed New York."_ Said a Human's voice.

_"What in the name of the Spirits is a 'New York'? I've never heard of such a thing."_

_"You signed the order to attack Earth. By proxy, you signed the order for your Dreadnought to orbitally bombard Earth's capital city."_ A pause, Whyte assumed that the SIGMA Operative was getting in _real_ close to the Turian, _"You better hope you don't get left alone with me… Mister Councilor… I had some friends in the Alliance Marines… Not a one of them made it out of New York."_

_"Your people shouldn't have broken Citadel law and harbored Council enemies, you brought this on yourself."_

"That's where you're wrong, Councilor." Said Whyte, abruptly entering the room, and receiving salutes from all of the SIGMA Operatives therein. "You see, we knew _nothing_ of the Quarian's status as Council Enemies, and by all reports, they didn't either. _Had_ they, they would have told us, and we would have acted accordingly. As to Citadel law, we had no idea such laws existed, so can you honestly punish us for things we truly knew nothing about?" Asked Whyte, the Turian's silence begged him to continue, "As you may know, we are currently hovering above a certain Turian world… Your homeworld, Palaven." This caught the Councilor's attention, "We've performed a by-the-books shock-and-awe invasion, for several days our soldiers burned your cities and slaughtered your armies, and for the last few hours, we've evacuated them and replaced them with machines… Expendable machines. Do you two want to know why?" He asked, looking from the Councilor to the Primarch, and back, "Because we want hostilities to end. All you have do is say, on camera -" Whyte indicated a small, floating, spherical device which was streaming all through the Galaxy, using Human and Council Comm-Buoy networks to do so, "That the Hierarchy will surrender, unconditionally, to the Human Systems Alliance. At which point, we will enter the negotiations phase, the Citadel Council will provide a negotiator to begin peace and territory talks, and we will all go on our merry way." He said, before pausing, and bringing his voice down low.

"However… Should you refuse to end hostilities… Should anything come out of your… Mouth… That isn't a 'Yes' or 'No', we will bomb... _This_ world." Not a moment after the declaration, an image of a Turian world appeared, and the Primarch was the first to recognize it.

_"THAT'S PALAVEN!"_ He declared, outraged, and fearful.

"I guess it is." Said the Human, with a playful tone, "We will bomb this world, as you did ours. The difference being, yours will no longer exist. You see, hours ago, when the flagship, carrying your Super Soldiers arrived, it destroyed a very... important ship." Whye began, "This ship _was_ carrying the weapons we planned to drop on your planet... Specifically, Planet Shaking Nuclear Missiles... Sadly, with the ship's destruction, the missiles detonated... So... After speaking with the Alliance Parliament, we decided on a different... More drastic course of action." He paused, "As I speak I've got a ship loaded with a Planet-_Destroyer_ class Nuclear Weapon that is primed to launch and detonate on your world. Should this occur, I can guarantee that _billions_ of your people will die in exactly ten seconds. Your maps will be redrawn as the bomb literally erases the planet it is detonated above, its oceans will boil as the heat from the blast disintegrates them, its continents will shake and quake as they are destroyed from the raw force of the nuclear weapon, and your people will suffer and die, in intense agony and chaos, for the last ten seconds of their life." He told Sparatus, "... Unless you surrender."

"Human! Fine, we surrender, do not drop the bomb!" Said the Primarch, frantically.

"I wasn't _asking_ you… Primarch… You are here as a witness, nothing more." Said Whyte, firmly, before he looked to Sparatus again, "What do _you_ say?"

Sparatus thought about this for a few moments, before "You're bluffing."

The Human paused for a moment, and bowed his head, "Oh?"

"You wouldn't _dare_ harm Palaven. _No one_ would directly harm a fundamental ally of the Citadel Council. You're using the fact that you simply _got_ here after pushing us off of Earth and breaking through the Defense fleet, as a bluff of power. I know how this will go, you'll give me one more chance before you release the bomb, and you'll disarm it as it falls to the planet, and then claim it to be a dud. We did the same thing to the Vorcha during the War. I know, and you know, that you're bluffing." He said.

Whyte's face was impassive, "So you won't cease hostilities?" He asked, in a neutral tone.

"Councilor, Sparatus, leave your pride out of this!" The Primarch shouted, "_Tell him_ what I said! _Give him **my** answer!"_

"No. As I speak the Citadel Fleets are amassing right outside the Palaven relay. Any moment they will be here and you and yours will be finished."

"I see." Said Whyte, before he walked to a corner of the room, and pressed a button on a terminal, "This is Alliance Director of Affairs, Jason Whyte, calling the _Luna's Presence… _Come in _Luna's Presence._"

A moment's pause, _"This is the Luna's Presence, go ahead Director."_

"Hammer Down,_Presence_. Hammer Down."

Another pause, _"Understood."_

A video screen appeared in the room, it seemed to come from a satellite. Around the Human ship, others - both Human and Quarian - were rapidly fleeing, either going into Warp-Space or jumping with FTL travel. Even the _Annihilation_ did a quick jump to the edge of the system. The _Luna's Presence_ lowered it's shields, so it's belly could open. Within, an enormous bomb could be seen, and after a silent hiss, the bomb was launched, and after a moment's hesitation, it was caught by the gravity of the planet beneath it, and it started to fall at increasingly rapid speeds. It's thrusters flared periodically, to give it more speed and to guide it to it's targets.

"All Alliance Mechanized Forces on Target Planet, Contingency Pierre is in effect. Purge all systems and self destruct." Said Whyte, as the Primarch started to plea for him to be merciful, to reconsider his actions. When Whyte solemnly stared at the screen, as the satellite followed the bomb as it slowly picked up speed and began hurtling at the planet, the Primarch tried for the Councilor.

"Sparatus, you _haven't seen_ these people conduct their warfare! I have! I know for a _fact_ that he will carry out what he threatens to do! They bombed dozens, upon _dozens_ of cities for several minutes sustained! If you do not convince him to disarm that weapon, and surrender and end this war, he will change the face of our home - _OUR HOME - _for eternity!"

"He is bluffing. There is no one in existence who is this cruel." Said Sparatus.

_"ETA to impact: Fifteen seconds."_

"Sparatus! The bomb is dropping, _right now!_ If you do not surrender he will not disarm it! Will you put your sprits _damned_ pride aside, for one minute?!"

_"ETA to impact: Ten seconds."_

"I have. He would not dare do such a thing. The object we are watching has either _already_ been disarmed, or is a dud object, which will do no more damage than a small meteorite."

_"ETA to impact: Five seconds."_

"Sparatus!"

_"ETA to impact: Four seconds."_

"He is bluffing."

_"Three seconds."_

"He is not!"

_"Two seconds."_

"There is no one this cruel, in the _universe_. Let alone our Galaxy."

_"One second."_

"I am very…Truly sorry this had to happen this way… Councilor." Said the Human.

_"Impact."_

"God help us all." Said the Human, before the bomb slammed into the planet, and nothing happened.

"What did I tell you?" Asked Sparatus, "He was _bluff-"_ His words were halted, when the crater formed by the bomb suddenly started gushing out flames. Afterwards, the planet itself could be seen shaking, violently. The oceans on the planet began forming huge tidal waves, that evaporated seconds after they formed. The geysers of fire, from the bomb's underground detonation reached dozens of kilometers into the sky, and magma started pouring out from the crater, as the planet continued to shake. The continent the satellite could see was being horribly deformed, volcanoes, mountains and enormous fissures were forming, as the planet seemed to be literally shaking itself apart, but the damage didn't end there. After a few seconds passed, the planet _itself_, simply gave up, and with an enormous explosion, so violent that the shockwave in its rapidly deteriorating atmosphere, could be seen clearly through the vacuum of space. An especially large chunk of the rapidly fleeing pieces of planet, slammed into the planet's primary moon, and the chunk broke into millions of smaller bits, while the moon, damaged as it surely was, was knocked severely off course, due in part to the now _lack_ of a gravitational field holding it. For several moments, the room - and even the entire galaxy! - was silent, as all watched the Turian world literally get turned to space dust, and enormous, shattered husks of debris.

"I will give you six hours, Councilor." Said Whyte, "If you refuse me again… I will bomb a place of possibly even more significance. And I will keep bombing until you either surrender, or you've run out of planets." He stated, solemnly, before he looked at the machine that had been streaming the conversation. "I am… Truly sorry it had to come to this." He said, his face conveying the very same emotions he'd confessed to; a moment passed in silence, before he nodded, and left the room.

The Primarch proceeded to howl, in rage and sorrow, as Sparatus' eyes were glued to the holo-screen, his mind unable to comprehend _just_ what had happened.

* * *

Asari Councilor Tevos honestly couldn't believe the amount of death she'd just witnessed, in exactly two minutes. She heard tales of her ex-commando Grandmother, of the Krogan Rebellions, of the millions that died throughout the wars, and of the unbelievable brutality that occurred. She remembered the horrifying feeling every time she thought of war, and when she became councilor, she understood why the Asari were so adamant against it.

It was because war - and the atrocities committed therein - was horrible, and was something that should be avoided at all cost.

As she threw up the contents of her stomach, she couldn't at all push back the thoughts of how many had just _died_ because of the Human Race's actions. She could practically hear the riots that were soon to happen across the Citadel - across the _Galaxy - _because of the Palaven Bombing. She could predict that the civilian populace would want war, but she could also predict something else.

A war with the human race, was _not_ something the Council could win. Even with the help from the Terminus systems, she truly doubted that they could win a war with the Humans. The Civilians would protest, riot, revolt, demand impeachment, demand _war_, but the Galactic Governments could not let up. The Humans were more brutal than the Krogan - and if they played their cards right, could get the Krogan (Or _any_ other enemy of the Council, for that matter - as an ally in the war that could very well imminently occur.

As she wiped the bile from her face and looked once again at the image of space-dust, where Palaven had once been, she felt another feeling. She felt loathing, loathing for Sparatus, and a loathing for the Humans. _He_ had caused this, he and his Goddess-damned Turian _pride._ He _knew_ that the Humans wouldn't do it, he _knew_ that the Humans were bluffing, and despite the Galaxy _knowing_ the _exact_ opposite, and despite the Galaxy _seeing_ his response, he declined the Human's offer, and he tested the Human. He called the Human's bluff, and in response, the Human called Sparatus'. And the Humans! Their Goddess-damned _violence,_ and their damned _need_ for retribution, just snuffed out the lives of over seventeen _billion_ innocent Turians!

"Coun… Tevos…" Began Eistan, as he helped Tevos to her feet, his eyes too glued to the feed from Palaven, "What do we _do_?"

That statement alone, coming from him, described the situation in one sentence. A Salarian - _a Salarian! - _didn't know what to do, how to react, or what the solution to the problem was. He was just as surprised as Tevos, and his tone said just as much, when it slipped from it's usually dull and neutral, but fast-talking drawl. The two ignored the sounds of the Varren Mechs, growling at them, not-so-silently reminding them who was in charge.

"I don't know… The Human lied to us, there is _no way_ we can defeat these people… We would need everything, and _then_ some… To do so. We would need everything… The Council's races… The Terminus' races… Goddess, we would need to hunt down and uplift other races… Just to try and defeat these monsters."

"So what do we do?"

"We pray… We pray that Sparatus makes the right decision in six hours… So _we_ can placate the Galaxy and plead for some sort of an alliance with the Humans." She said.

Eistan laughed, an uncharacteristic action for a Salarian, "Do you _honestly_ think the Humans will want to forge an alliance with us? After what the Turians did to them? After what _they_ did to the Turians? Tevos, it is well within their power to colonize _every_ planet we cannot reach with the relays. With whatever technology they used to get here and leave in a few hours without detection. For all we know we are fighting an Imperium that stretches across the length and width of the Galaxy, and we startled the Varren's den by finding their home, by accident. Think about it, Tevos… They hold enough power to rule over all of us with an iron fist… An Imperium of Human kind… It is not something I want to see."

"Well what _can_ we do, Eistan? Live with them being their own entity? Live in fear of angering the 'Imperium of Man'?" Demanded Tevos, "If we cannot secure an alliance we must do _something_!"

"But the question is… _What? What_ can we possibly do to placate them?"

* * *

Admiral Sri'Zoran burst into the clean room as fast as the decontamination process would let him, so he could rip off his mask and vomit the nutrient paste he'd ingested an hour earlier. He'd heard the Human say he would do it, but he _never_ believe that the Human would actually do so! He - like Sparatus - sincerely thought the Human was bluffing, and he - like Sparatus - was floored when he saw the explosion that rocked the planet. The Human God and the Quarian Ancestors were _not_ smiling on anyone in this war. Zoran's Omni-tool went off, Zoran vomited one more time, before he snapped his mask back on to speak.

"This Admiral Zoran." He said, trying not to dry-heave.

_"Admiral Zoran did you SEE THAT?!"_ It was Jorran'Zorah's voice, _"DID YOU SEE THAT?! THE HUMANS JUST BOMBED PALAVEN!"_

"I know, Zorah."

_"The damn planet is unrecognizable! There isn't anything left!" _Zorah shouted, _"And they're not allowing any of the Migrant Navy leave the system, or scan for wreckage remains! What do we do?! How can we possibly respond to this... This... **ATTROCITY?!"**_

"I don't know… Zorah. The Humans were fierce fighters on Earth… And now they've proven themselves to be even more fierce abroad."

_"They destroyed an entire planet! An ancestors-damned Council Homeworld!"_ Zorah declared, _"What were we thinking when we allied with these Humans?!"_

"We needed to be rescued, and they offered… Zorah."

_"But look at what they've done! Look at what they're threatening to do! _Did_ we make the right choice in doing this? What would have happened if we never met these people? I'll tell you, Palaven would have been spared this atrocity!"_

"It is far too late to renege on our agreement now, Zorah. We knew that the Humans were fierce fighters after we saw their historical documents. We knew that they would fight to the bloody, bitter end if they saw fit. We _knew_ that they would do something like this, if they thought they were in the right." He paused, "If anything… We've made the greatest decision imaginable."

_"What the hell are you talking about?!" _An outraged Zorah demanded.

"The Humans just showed to the entire _Galaxy_… The **_Galaxy_**, Zorah… That they are the new dominant superpower. Because we are allied with them, that makes _us_ a Great - possibly even a Super - Power in our own right." Said Zoran, "We are, with the Humans, stronger than _ever_ before… We must continue to support their endeavors."

_"At what cost is this power?!"_ Demanded Zorah, _"Do you know the total population of Palaven? As of 2200, it was just over ten BILLION! In just two Galactic minutes, they killed more Turians than Humans were killed in this entire war!"_

"I know… Zorah."

_"We _must_ do something to stop them from killing more! They said their next target could be possibly __**worse**__ than Palaven! You do know that leaves only one place, correct?!"_

"Yes… Zorah."

_"And if they deploy a bomb of _that_ magnitude, there will be nothing left in that system?! They may very well destroy the Mass Relay!"_

"I _know_… Zorah."

_"Then we MUST DO SOMETHING!"_

"What do you suggest, Zorah? Ask them nicely? They're in a blood rage worse than the Krogan's during the rebellions. Threaten them with our fleet? They kept their anti-matter weapons and didn't give us energy shields, we'd be dead within the week. Beg them? I return to the blood-rage point." Said Zoran, "The _only_ thing we can do… Is pray that the Turian Councilor makes an informed decision in six hours… Otherwise this Galaxy will see warfare more brutal than seen during the Krogan Rebellions."

_"Ancestors help us…"_

* * *

Christopher McGraw was slack-jawed. The Alliance wasn't kidding when they said they'd broadcast the negotiations to everyone, even all the way out here on Earth, they'd shown the planet-explosion.

"Well... Hot damn, daddy-o… Your bombs worked." Said Christopher McGraw, as he watched the Palaven Bombing repeat on his holoscreen. "A million years ago, when you were still ninety two, you came up with the ultimate planetary war deterrent… Never thought you'd need it… But here we are… Fifty years later… Fuckin' up the _galaxy_ with your Bombs of Ultimate Destruction. Don't you just love your BUDdies, Gladys?" He chuckled.

_"Is there a joke in there? Mister McGraw?"_ Asked McGraw's AI.

"There would be if you'd gotten it." Said Chris, before he heard something pounding on his door. "Argh… God damn it Smith, I swear to god if it's you, and you need me to go somewhere with you immediately, I'm going to force you to stop at a strip club and pick up a _fucking_ cheeseburger." Chris ranted, as he stood up and stalked over to the door to his apartment, "I thought I got today _off?!"_ He added, as an afterthought.

"What?" Asked Chris, when he opened it, but the face he was greeted with wiped away the somber mood he'd been in since he saw the Palaven Bombing, _"Jackie!_ God damn man, it's good to see you!" Said Chris, as he brought his long time friend, Jack Harper in for a hug, which he accepted. "How have things been on Eden, man? Why are you here?" Asked Chris, after he let Jack in and threw on a shirt.

"Quiet, Chris, thanks for asking." Said Jack, his young voice was deep, and full of a certain type of vigor, and determination Chris hadn't heard since Jack helped him out in college. "As to why I'm here I have a… Proposition… For you..." He said, "That I've decided to deliver personally, seeing as how the men I sent a few weeks ago said you... Rather rudely refused to speak with them."

"Ah jeeze… Not another 'Now hear me out' thing, Jackie, you remember what happened before you became a merc?"

"I remember." Said Jack, as the two sat down in Chris' living room, "But that's only half the reason why I'm here. You see, I was on Roof when the Turians invaded -"

"Ah shit man… Sorry."

"Don't be… I found something there that made everything worth it." Said Harper, as he reached up and removed a few contact lenses from his eyes.

"Whoa! What the hell man, I thought your Dad was against the whole 'Nano-augmentation' thing?" Said Chris, as he saw Jack's _glowing_ eyes.

"He was." Said Jack, "And I didn't do this. At least, not voluntarily. I can't say much for fear of you rejecting the idea, but suffice to say what did this to me gave me a… Let's call it a vision… That dark times are coming for Humanity and -"

"For the 'Turians' too… Just look at the TV." Said Chris, pointing to the still-image of the enormous mushroom cloud, as it was still a mushroom fire-ball. "Home system's going to be pretty dark for the rest of... Eternity." He chuckled, at his dark joke.

"Quite…" Said Jack, once again showing his infinite patience for Chris' short-mindedness, "As I was saying, dark times are coming for Humanity, and there needs to be someone… Some_thing_ out there, fighting for it's survival. To quote an old story, to work in the dark, to serve the light."

_"Nice!"_ Chris laughed, "Ah damn, I thought I was the only one…"

"I'm using the funds I've received from my father's unfortunate demise at the hands of the aliens to create an organization to do just that. I've got contacts in many places that can get me to places I need to be, with the people, funding and tech I need to be there."

"Where do I fit into this?" Asked Chris, "And are you going to use this tech to put Gladys in a bikini? Because I find that pretty easy to expect with you, you sick fuck." Jack smiled at this, and Chris was quick to point it out, "Ha ha! I knew I could get you to smile! That'll be fifty bucks, dumb ass."

"Not _even _a drop in the bucket if things go according to plan." Said Harper, "As to your involvement… Simply put, I want you to be my partner. Where I would be the… 'CEO' of sorts you would be the… 'COO'… Where I'd be the President, you'd be the Vice President… Do you understand?"

"Pretty much, you want me to be your partner. What do _I_ get out of this?" Chris asked.

"Once I've set the organization up… Limitless funding, and space to work whenever you aren't needed." Replied Jack.

"And what will be expected of me?" Asked Chris, after a momentary pause.

"That you do your absolute best with whatever assignment you are given."

"Well that sounds cool… How long do I have to think about this?"

"You would be a _very_ important asset, Chris… And given you and I's friendship… I'll make it a standing invitation."

"Well thanks man… Throw in a bucket made of anti-materials and we've got a deal." Said Chris.

"Excellent." Said Harper, as he reached out to shake Chris' hand, "And… Should things fall through… This conversation… _Never_ happened."

" 'Course." Chris nodded, "Now seriously, you fucking _smiled_ when I mentioned Gladys in a bikini… How fucking sick are you?" Chris chuckled.

* * *

"Admiral, the boarding party just reported in." Said a crewman on the _Piked Shield._

"And?" Asked the Admiral.

"Severe losses and casualties, but its clear of hostiles. We're already uploading AI's into it, to clear its systems of any viruses, and a flagship has been ordered to move it to Human space."

"What do we know so far?" The Admiral asked.

"Well, little, but the AI's have been surfing through the ship's databanks, and of what they've looked at during the scrub... The banks mentioned Protheans." The Crewman answered.

The bridge slowly went silent, as the knowledge sunk in. The Protheans, it _always_ came back to them, they'd watched the Humans from afar, tens of thousands of years ago, and then they left. The left their technology for the Galaxy to inherit, they'd left _everything_ for _everyone_ to inherit, but not for Man. Hundreds of Earth's top researchers, scientists, xeno-biologists, anyone who could make a guess as to alien purposes had been debating this ever since they'd learned of the Prothean Ruins on Mars, but no one could come up with a definitive answer as to _what_ happened to the Protheans, and _why_ they didn't leave anything for Humanity.

"You're saying the Protheans gave the Turians a ship?" Asked the Admiral.

"No sir... The ship _is_ Prothean... But from what the AI's have learned, it's millennia old, estimated just as old as the Prothean Ruins... Preliminary research simply suggests that the Turians _found_ it... And they've been waiting for a chance to use it." She explained.

"Alright... Find out where it came from, we're going to hunt down every shred of evidence and information about this thing... And we're going to make _damn_ sure the Turians can't find any more." The Admiral stated, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes sir, Director Whyte is about to head back into the interrogation room..."

* * *

"Councilor… What in the name of the Spirits possessed you to do this?" Asked the Primarch, as he alternated his gaze from the live feed from Palaven, to his esteemed Councilor.

"I… I thought…"

"Councilor, you thought they had a marginal military, and as such you called in all of the forces _I_ had command over! You thought they would attack the Citadel, and thus signed the executive order to skeletonize the Patrol fleet, to bolster the Citadel defense! You thought they wouldn't drop a bomb on our planet that may very well kill everyone on it!" Said the Primarch, "_Millions..._ No... **Billions** have died, each time you thought and made a decision based off those thoughts! If there's _anything_ I've learned through becoming Primarch, it is that you should value the opinions, the ideas, the spirits-damned _thoughts_ of others before you make a decision! Palaven _may very well DIE_ because of your decisions!" The Primarch looked to the timer, it had only a few minutes left, "The Human threatened to hit someplace that may very well be _worse_ than Palaven! That leaves only one target, the _Citadel_! If he bombs the Citadel - and it's pretty much a guarantee he will - he will single handedly destroy the seat of Galactic Government! The ramifications of his bombing Palaven are too many to count, but if he destroys the _Citadel_? The entire Galaxy will fall into turmoil, and because you sent the first and second fleets to their doom, and removed the bulk of the patrol fleets, _nothing_ can stop whomever will come to challenge our immediate lack of authority!" The clock read only a few seconds, "Whatever you do, Councilor, make sure you are informed while doing so!" He finished, before the door swished open.

"Councilor." Said the Human from before, he nodded his head. "I assume you've had time to think?" He asked.

* * *

Tevos and Eistan's breath was caught in their throats as they watched the broadcast. Tevos couldn't believe her eyes when she got reports that the fleets were, simply, unable to reach Palaven, because the Humans had - somehow - caused all of the relays connecting to Palaven to vanish. It ws impossible for the ships to reach the planet via conventional FTL, their drive cores would incinerate the crews before they even got close. As such the entire navy was moving to the Citadel to reinforce C-Sec and push out the Human machines. The varren robots were still circling the Council, and C-Sec's counter offensive against the machines at the tower was having little progress, so the Councilors were still in too much danger to try anything rash.

_"Yes."_ Said Sparatus, answering the Human's question. Tevos prayed to her goddess that he would make a better decision than the one that lead to a third of Palaven being shredded in seconds.

_"Then I shall ask the same question…"_ Said the Human, his words being translated by whatever machine he was speaking into, _"Will you, for as much your species, as mine, cease hostilities?"_

_"Can _I_ ask something… Director Jason Whyte?"_

The Human paused, _"I don't see why not… what do you want to know?"_

_"Why did you do this?" _Sparatus indicated a holographic image of the Cloud of dust, that had been Palaven, Tevos had found herself wondering how long this cloud would remain, if it ever _did_ dissipate. _"This kind of damage… It is irreparable… It is irrefutably _more_ than what the Admiral did to your planet… So why do something so… Cruel so… Destructive… In retaliation? An entire planet, in response to a city? The destruction of an entire planet - a homeworld! - for the destruction of a city? It seems so… Overly dramatic. I must ask you _why_ you did this!"_

The Human was silent for a moment, _"When my race found the Prothean ruins on Mars, we were frightened. They were abandoned, and looked like they had been for some time… But we had been _watched_ by an alien species, that was no doubt more advanced than ours. This kicked our advancement, our species, into over drive. For the longest time - pre-colonization and post First-Contact - we feared what we could meet in the cosmos. That drove the Alliance to, in essence, make weapons and soldiers that would be better than the best, and be our trump card should we ever need it. The Planet Destroying Nuclear Bombs were a recent, but welcome addition to the Alliance's contingency arsenal."_ Said the Human, _"We deployed it here, as retribution for New York… But also as a show of power. Ever since antimatter tech, the bomb we just detonated has been utterly _trumped_. I could order, right now, an antimatter strike on another Turian world, and I could effectively blow the planet apart. I _won't_, I'm not that savage… But the possibility exists. Planet Destroyers, Warp Technology, and Antimatter Particle Beams, those are what set the Human military apart from the rest…"_ He paused, _"I refer to a phrase, to finish my answer. It is an undeniable… And might I say… _Fundemental_ quality of man, that when faced with extinction… __**Every**__ alternative is preferable."_ He finished, _"Now… Will you cease hostilities?"_

Tevos was dumbfounded, how _barbaric _were these people? To deploy a weapon that could destroy an entire planet, just as a show of power? Just to prove a point? Not even the _Krogan_ would do something like this! And they took to ramming star ships into planets and moons at FTL speeds! Sparatus basically _needed_ to surrender to the Human, because if he detonated the bomb in the Citadel, _any_ possibility to make peace would be shattered.

_Please, Sparatus… Make the right choice!_

_"I… I, Turian Councilor Sparatus… Hereby order the immediate cessation of all hostilities with the Human Systems Alliance…"_ Said Sparatus, sounding more and more defeated with each word.

_"Thank you… Sparatus… You've no idea how thankful I am..."_ Said Whyte, before he paused, _"And you have no idea how thankful the people on your homeworld are."_ He added quickly, before he walked over to a terminal in the wall, _"Attention any and all ground forces in enemy territory, disarm Nuclear Armaments and ex-filtrate as soon as possible." _He ordered. Sparatus' head had whipped up faster than he himself had realized, when it registered what the Human said, the image on the screen quickly split in two; in one half of the video, showed the space-dust, and in the other, Palaven, with all the Human ships still orbiting it.

_"WHIP... Operation WHIP... Worst Hand In Poker..."_ Muttered the Human, before he turned around to look at the machine streaming the event, _"I look forward to meeting the Citadel Council, in person." _He said, before nodding, a moment later, the feed was cut.

Outside, Tevos almost immediately heard a sudden silence, where there had been gunfire. She looked up, and saw the Human machines rapidly retreating outside, not even providing suppressing fire, or attempting to neutralize the Council and the SPECTREs that were still alive and bleeding, they simply ran, as fast as they could.

Tevos felt an immeasurable wave of relief wash over her as she realized that the bloody war was more or less, _over._ However that wave of relief was almost immediately replaced by a sudden, jarring feeling of dread. On one day, the Humans were assaulted at their home world, and in less than a day they were able to push the _might_ of the Turian navy from their shores. On another day, they brought the fight _to_ the Turians, _obliterated_ the Palaven Defense Fleet, and obliterated a third of Palaven _itself_, not to mention that they pulled a sneak attack on the Citadel and managed to fix it with a Nuclear Weapon. The Humans had proven that they could attack - and if given enough time, _destroy -_ anything they set their sights on, they proved that they could attack anywhere, any_when_, with devastating consequences. Now? Now the horrifyingly powerful coalition of two that was the Human Systems Alliance, was coming to the one place where they could do more damage in fifteen minutes, than they'd done in the entirety of the Palaven invasion.

The Humans were coming to the Citadel.

* * *

_A/N:_

_I hope you enjoyed the Chapter, if you're looking for updates, check out my profile!_  
_If you're looking for different stories, check out some of my other work!_  
_Thanks for reading,_  
_ProfFartBurger_


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N:_

_I think my favorite part of the last chapter, was watching the reviewers' proverbial jaws drop when they figured out I, and Whyte, had duped them all out of bombing Palaven. _

_I'll admit, though, it scared me a little when I read how many of you were *disappointed* I didn't incinerate Palaven.  
I mean... seriously, how blood thirsty ARE you guys?  
I know I've made __**references**__ to WarHammer 40K, but these aren't Imperium Humans, folks... They may love their homeworld, and they may get __**really**__ pissed if you bomb it, but they're not going to condemn an entire planet _irreparably_ just because ours, in the grand scheme of things, had a couple proverbial stones thrown through its 'windows'. _

_In other words: Y'all are some bloodthirsty motherf*ckers! _

_I _do_ have a reason, though, for faking out the Galaxy. _

_You'll learn soon. _

_Also of note: This chapter marks the *record*, both for the lengthiest chapter (As of yet), and the amount of back-and-forths between Me and my Beta.  
_

_Anyways, without further ado:  
We're off!_

* * *

Chapter 17

* * *

November 30th, 2201:

_After successfully extracting all Human and Quarian forces from Palaven, and activating the Rug Protocol on any machinery left upon the planet, the Human Systems Alliance Summer fleet flees Palaven using their warp Technology, and the Migrant Fleet flees Palaven space using the Relays stolen from the Palaven, Roof, Eden, and Sol-Systems, and transported temporarily into Palaven-space. Immediately after the last Quarian ships jumps to allied-territory, an Alliance Flagship warps the Turian relays to their original positions, and the Human relays back to the blank void they'd been resting at, before fleeing as well._

* * *

"Director, I'm sorry but he wouldn't take no for an answer!" Said Jason Whyte's yeoman, not a moment after a Quarian Admiral barged through his door, his body language making it _very_ clear that he was angry.

"It is quite alright... Give us a moment, will you, Wells?" He asked, the yeoman nodded, and exited the door. The room was silent, as the Quarian simply stared at the aged Human, and the Human stared back. It had only been an hour, since Whyte had retired to his office, in a non-descript building, on some island off the coast of Hawaii. It wasn't _his_ building, in the sense that he owned it, but rather, it was the office building used by all the Alliance Directors to date, though it was very soon to be replaced with the Alliance Capital, Arcturus Station. The building wasn't on its own, though, it and a near half dozen others, all lying on the same island, served as the headquarters for the Systems Alliance, all of the members of Alliance Parliament either lived or worked here each day, and it had been that way ever since the Alliance's formation; how the Turians _missed_ the buildings entirely, Whyte would never know. The room Whyte was in (Colloquially known as 'The Director's Room) was rather quaint, it had a window that gave Whyte a great view of Earth's ocean, it was well lit, his desk was made of a rare Eden-native wood, and upon it was pictures of Earth monuments, most of which were still being repaired, in the aftermath of the Earth Invasion.

Finally, the Quarian - who Whyte had finally identified as Sri'Zoran - broke the silence, "You _lied."_ He stated, simply.

"Of course I have." Said Whyte, playing dumb, "One time, when I was a boy, I took a cookie from my mother's favorite stash. She asked if I'd done it, I told her my father had done it." He said, with a straight face.

"You _know_ what I was referring to!" Zoran stated, irritably.

"Sit." Whyte bade, "The first thing you must understand is that I never lied to you." He began, "When first you and the admiralty board came upon the Piked Shield, and we spoke retaliation plans, I _fully_ meant that we were going to drop a bomb on Palaven." He explained, "But then you... For lack of a better term, snapped me out of it. You and your Admirals' words made me wonder, _was_ there a different course of action? One that would have the same effect, but with less death? It took me days, but I found one, just as you came in to be sent off, by me, to the Citadel." He explained.

"But you _did_ lie to me then!" Zoran stated.

"I told you 'I had a plan' for it." Whyte pointed out, "And it is true, I did... And it worked beautifully." Whyte said, before his straight face faltered for a moment, with a smile. He looked to one of the pictures of his desk, before he looked to Zoran again, "Tell me, Admiral Zoran... In your many bouts to our Internet, have you ever heard of 'Hollywood'?" Whyte asked.

Zoran nodded, "Of course."

"Well, there is an entire genre unto itself, of computer-animated movies." Whyte explained, "We oftentimes use computer-animated movies to envision things we ourselves cannot produce on Earth, or Eden, or that simply put, does not exist. But we also use computer graphics to make special effects... Such as _big_ explosions, for example." Zoran's shoulders began to slump as it slowly began to resonate what Whyte was getting at, "And if there is one thing Hollywood is infamous for, it is _big_ explosions. After deciding that it would be prudent to investigate other means of retaliation, I discovered that all I needed to do was _scare_ the Turian Councilor into submission." He said, "So, using a combination of private and Alliance resources... I took the greatest talents at Computer Animation, and I took data stolen from the Extra-net, of the Turian Homeworld. I gave the data to them, with a simple set of instructions: Blow the planet up, violently."

"You..." Zoran was beyond words.

"I tricked, the entire galaxy, with a two minute, computer-animated video." Whyte confirmed, with a nod.

_"Keelah..._" Zoran muttered, slack-jawed. The Humans had won a war, with a _video_! "I..." The Humans had defeated the Turians on Earth, with many displays of unorthodoxy, but _this_ was an entirely new level, it _redefined_ the word 'unorthodox'. "You... Your species... How could you have come up with such a thing?" He finally blubbered out.

Whyte nodded, "War, and mankind, are synonymous. While we evolved, war waited. When we became enraged, war tempted us. When we tasted war's forbidden fruit, we couldn't _stop."_ He explained, "For as _long_ as mankind has existed here upon this Earth, _war_ has existed with us. When fists and rock met leather armor, and couldn't top it, we made blades. When blades met chainmail, we made projectiles. When arrows met plate-metal, we made bullets. When bullets met Kevlar, we made them pierce armor. When those bullets met thickened, resistant armor, we made explosives. When explosives met cavalry and vehicles, we made tanks. When the zeppelin destroyed the tanks, we made aerial fighters. When aerial fighters needed immediate transportation, we made ships, and outfitted them with bullets, explosives, tanks and aerial fighters. When the enemy showed an unbreaking back, we made atomic explosives." He explained, "For _every_ challenge War has presented us, we have forged a solution. When War depleted Earth's natural resources, its oil and its fuel, we invented easier and safer ways to obtain nuclear energy. When War ruined out precious metals, we made metal synthesizers. When War showed us that, as we continued on, we would need more forces than what was available, we made TITANs, and unmanned forces. When War showed us Space, in its unending glory, and unceasing mystery, we made satellites and satellite weaponry. When War told us we could _travel_ to Space, we studied for generations, to make the warp drive. Now, when War presented us with the Turians, who _would_ have fought to the bloody, bitter end, we made a two minute video, demonstrating what we would do." He stated, "For as long as Man has existed, war has followed us. For as long as man _will_ exist, man and war will evolve." Whyte stated.

* * *

December 1st, 2201:

_Immediately after detecting the ability to do so, the Citadel Council authorized Turian Ships to retreat to Palaven Space, and give reinforcements and help to the wounded, and assist the survivors from the Naval Engagement. _

_Preliminary casualty counts rest at two million non-military dead, 1.5 million injured. Military casualties rest at six million dead, two million injured._

December 2nd, 2201:

_Acting under direction from the Alliance Parliament, Director Jason Whyte approves 'Operation: Ark'. An hour after the operation's approval, a massive undertaking is conducted as the Alliance and Quarian engineering corps begin work on the single largest Alliance ship to date. The ship, forged entirely from Tuning Materials and wielding the strongest shields possible, is designed to be Humanity's last vestige of survival, should Continuity Contingencies fail.  
Construction is said to be completed in 1.5 years. _

December 6th, 2201:

_The Citadel Council - aside from Sparatus, whose locator went offline quickly after he disappeared into Human Space - sends a simple message throughout the Relay and comm-buoy Network, in an attempt to coax the Humans, who have been silent for days. Simply put, the message was 'We are ready to speak', the Human response came from Comm-buoys in the Terminus systems, simply saying 'We are not'. The response to the Human response is mixed, many civilians [Especially Turians] believe the Humans are lying and are simply gearing up for war, the Council dismisses these claims by secretly fabricating a second, fake Human addition, saying 'Our Governments were shaken by the Earth Attack, and we are making decisions as to whom to send to be our representative. This assuages some civilians, but many are still skeptical._

December 6th, 2201:

_In an odd move, several Krogan Clans on Tuchanka go on the record and say they support whatever move the Humans make, on the catch that they 'Bomb the Salarians next'… No Human response._

December 8th, 2201:

_As the Humans prepare to travel to the Citadel, they use Comm-buoys from Thessian space to once again warn the Council that they are negotiating peace, but are not at all opposed to continuing the war. The Council's response was a simple 'We Understand'._

December 9th, 2201:

_The SSV Nimitz, the System Alliance's _first_ Supercarrier warship, is finally completed after three months of R&D, and construction.  
__The Nimitz (And all four subsequent Supercarriers, currently in development) was designed to be, as advertised: A _super_carrier ship__. Its dimensions make it one and a half times the length, width, and height of a Flagship, but it possesses nowhere near the raw firing power of the Flagship.  
The Nimitz, almost immediately after first-warp, is loaded down with soldiers, fighters, and weapons, in preparation for the Citadel Arrival. _

December 9th, 2201:

_The Humans use Palaven Buoys to state that they intend to come to the Citadel soon, and make it known that they will be bringing the Summer Fleet. The Council asked whether the Quarian Fleet would be present, the Human response was short, and simple, "No.", when asked for elaboration, the Humans used Khar'shan buoys to say "We decided it better to bring only human ships to the Human negotiation. But it doesn't mean the Quarians won't be present." This causes mass riots across the Citadel, which are quickly quelled both by C-Sec and sudden rapid circulation of sightings of Human War Mechs in the foundations. (Investigation still underway.)_

December 11th, 2201:

_Humans broadcast, from every buoy in service, that they will arrive exactly two hours after the broadcast's air. The ships the Turians are able to spare - under direction from the acting Primarch of Palaven - move to shore up the Citadel's defenses as Asari and Salarian ships take the place of the Turian reconnaissance and border patrol fleets. All other ships which don't have important enough orders, such as patrolling the Terminus borders, are brought to the Citadel._

December 11th, 2201:

_The Humans arrive at the Citadel._

* * *

Silence.

Space, the void, the blackness, whatever, whoever called it, it was always known that the void was silent, but for Admiral Shek Stinal, of the [remaining] Turian Navy, the silence seemed all the more pressing, with this most recent development.

There, on the other side of the void, laid an enormous fleet. This fleet had the void to their backs, and the entirety of the Citadel Defense Fleet to their fronts. They'd just _appeared_, not like a ship traveling at FTL would appear, no, these ships simply tore holes in the nebula, and _appeared. _Stinal knew that they weren't of any species she knew of, Citadel ships were designed somewhat aesthetically, and ended up looking more aesthetically pleasing than anything else. But these ships, _looked_ like they were designed for war, and nothing _but_ war. The smallest ones were the most reminiscent of Citadel warships, they were sleek and curved, but still had the rugged appearance. The second smallest were triangular, but blocky and _tough_ in appearance, almost as if they were grunt-ships, and they _knew._ The third largest ships (Or, smallest of the larger-class ships) had a sort of _gun_ appearance, but were so blocky, and angular, that they looked less like the entire gun, and more like a barrel of a large sniper rifle. The second largest, was, quite simply, a ship full of hangars. It had no weapons, aside from turrets on its port, starboard, and bow, but other than that, they had nothing but hangars; and finally, came the largest. These ones were ovular in shape, but with large, almost octagonal plates of armor adorning its surface, and _many_ weapons upon them.

Looking at these ships made Stinal feel small, the large-class ships _all_ dwarfed her Dreadnought - one of the _few_ the Hierarchy had left. She didn't like feeling small, but she knew that if she made _any_ moves that could be mistranslated as violent, she may resume a war, that had claimed the pride of her race, and had introduced to them the worst humiliation in their history.

What was worse, her ship had the misfortune of being at the head of the Citadel Fleet. The _sword_ had opted to stay at the Citadel, in case it had to evacuate the remaining Council members and beat a hasty retreat. So, of course, after the most tense eighty four seconds in galactic history, the Humans had to hail _her_ ship, and ruin _her_ day.

She sighed, before she made the order to accept the hail.

"This is admiral Shek Stinal... To whom am I speaking?" She asked, trying to keep a certain level of pride in her voice, but not trying to make herself sound haughty.

_"This is Alliance Director of Affairs, Jason Whyte."_ Said the voice of the - no doubt - Human Leader, _"Am I speaking to the individual that can grant my ship, clearance to land upon your Citadel?"_ He asked, dumbfounding Stinal.

_Why would he ask _me? She wondered,_ Would it not be more prudent to contact the Citadel directly?_

"I shall put you through..." She said, before barking out a few orders.

* * *

December 11th, 2201:

_In a moment to be referred to as 'The longest minute in history', the Human and Citadel fleets simply stare at each other, neither willing to make the first move, before the Human, Alliance Director Jason Whyte, states that he - along with the Quarian Admiralty Board - will be traveling to the Citadel, and despite misgivings that he and his guards would simply land on the Presidium itself, he asks for directions to a docking bay. Befuddled, an Asari C-Sec officer guides the three Human ship to a docking bay that is quickly locked down by C-Sec, so as to give the Humans 'privacy' when they make their way to the Citadel Tower.  
Said ship almost immediately proves far too large to be effectively docked, so the Humans and Quarians, opt to take three shuttles to land upon the Citadel._

* * *

"So here we are…" Said Jason Whyte, more to himself than to the SIGMA Operatives that populated the shuttle with him.

"I can guarantee your safety, Director." Said John-S1, "Doesn't matter if it's Turian, Asari, Salarian or a little green man, if things go south you won't be touched."

"I'm not worried about that, if push comes to shove I can give an order for the Citadel to be bombarded with anti-matter. What I'm worried about is how the negotiations will go down." He said, "We're waltzing into veritable enemy territory, with one of their leaders in chains. Imagine how that will look to everyone watching?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"This is coming from the man that _faked_ dropping a Planet Shaker on an alien homeworld… I don't think there's _anyone _out there with a bigger pair than yours… Sir."

"Still… I just hope that the Turian doesn't get pissed off when we make our demands."

"What are they? If I may ask."

"In the same way that the Terminus Systems are their own body, the Human Systems Alliance will be it's own governing body. We'll draw our borders and say that any planet with humans on it, within those borders, is property of the Human race."

"But… We don't _use_ the Tuning Gates to colonize… Sir." Said John, "So why insinuate to them that we do?"

"We draw lines on the map with the idea that we colonize like they do. What they don't know is that we _don't_ colonize like they do, rather we actively hunt for worlds off the beaten path. Where there may be thirty Earth like planets within the lines we draw, when guided by the Gates, there could be _hundreds_ in systems _not_ shown by the Gates."

"So we could win a territorial war, if we colonized every Earth-world we found within and without the Tuning Gates… I see." Said John, "What are the other terms?"

"I want the Turians to pay for reparations to our world. They don't _know_ everything is nearly fixed already, but raw resources will never go wrong." Said Whyte, "However I will outright state that any unsanctioned military ships entering our borders - be they Council or other - will be considered as hostile, and treated as such."

"A little… Harsh… Don't you think… Sir?"

"We've made a lot of enemies during this war, John. We need to make sure those enemies _know_ that we will fight back."

"I see… I must ask -" The super-soldier was cut off when his communicator went live.

_"Brace for evasive maneuvers!"_ The shuttle's pilot ordered, _"I'm going thrusters!" _He added, just before the helicopter blades retracted, and the thrusters began flaring.

* * *

They'd told him, it was fake. They'd told him that the Humans _hadn't_ destroyed Palaven. They were wrong, no one could fake that. Selianor Fian had been born on Palaven, entire generations of Fians had been born on Palaven, and his entire family, had been on Palaven when it exploded. The only reason he survived was because he'd had reserved, years ago, a spirits-cursed appointment with the consort - that he'd _missed_ because of the detonation! The Humans had killed them, all of them, and they had broken the back of the Hierarchy; so the Humans would pay. If they wanted peace, they wouldn't have it.

So as he hefted the target-seeking rocket launcher, which had taken several days to meticulously craft and smuggle onto the Citadel, the only thoughts running through his mind would be how proud of him, his family would be. He ignored the outcries of the civilians who could see him, aiming the launcher at the Human shuttle in the center of the group, and he ignored the people shouting about one of the leading Human ships 'doing something', all he wanted to do was to destroy the Humans. So he smiled a Turian smile, when the target locked signal chimed, and he launched the missile.

The shuttle he'd been aiming at - and the two on either of its sides - all seemed to shift forms. Gone were their rotary-based wings, and here were thrusters, more fit for a special shuttle. The one the rocket was hurdling towards was the one that accelerated the fastest, it zoomed forward, the missile hot on its heels, as it neared the Rapid Transit lines, Fian wondered if the Human pilot was going to sacrifice _more_ Turians to save their own lives; but no, it pulled straight up, flying straight over the Rapid Transit highways, forcing the missile to miss them.

The two other shuttles, after they realized that they weren't being targeted, quickly sprung into action. One turned hard to the right and hurtled towards the shuttle the missile was hurtling towards, the other shuttle quickly began following the trail the missile had gone through, and Fian knew, as the shuttle began hurtling towards him, that it was his time to sleep.

He closed his eyes, and flinched when he heard something slam into the ground, but when nothing happened, he opened his eyes, and saw some sort of machine, jammed into the roof of the building he'd been standing upon.

Confused, Fian wondered if the missile, or bomb, or whatever the Humans had shot at him had failed, but in a few moments, he would learn that it hadn't.

Far from it.

* * *

The SSV Nimitz was a buzz of activity.

_"Captain!"_ Shouted a communications officer, _"The SIGMA Alpha Team's beacons have gone off!"_ She declared, "They're fleeing a missile!"

_"The Quarian and Turian carrying shuttles are performing their duties. The shuttle containing the Quarians is following the Director's shuttle, and the Turian's shuttle is following the missile's heat-vector trail."_ The Nimitz's AI reported.

"What do we know?" Asked Captain Geophrey Tyrone.

"The shuttle has launched a marker beacon, the Director has specifically asked we test the 'Warp Deployment' of a single OD3, to the beacon's location." A communications officer reported.

Tyrone waited a moment, then nodded.

"Do it." He ordered, and just a second later, the ship shuddered as it launched an Orbital Dropping Death Dealer through the void.

* * *

Corporal Bill Sampson was the 'lucky' one who had his pod launched. His squad's AI had told him they would be performing a transportation experiment, as they launched him, but he didn't mind, all he cared about was that someone had launched a missile at the Alliance Director for Affairs' shuttle, and he had been chosen to take the man out.

So when his Mk. IV Orbital Insertion Vehicle suddenly stopped shuddering, when it left real-space and entered warp-space for just a second, he immediately tensed himself for a landing. A second later, he could see outside the OIV's view-port that he'd entered the atmosphere of a space station, and in an instant his OIV slammed into the ground. The door hissed open quickly, and almost instinctually, Sampson kicked the door open, and rushed out, shotgun in hand.

To his right, he saw his target, a Turian - of course - with a spent rocket launcher in his hands. Sampson only let the Turian have a single 'Oh Shit' moment, before he barreled forward. He'd been told _not_ to kill the Turian, during his few second journey, so he didn't even bother chambering a round with the shotgun, that he swung like a club, right into the Turian's face.

The Turian stumbled backwards, holding his bleeding snout, before he took a fighting stance. The OD3 didn't give the Turian the time to make the first move, and when his fist met the Turian's face the first time, was when he heard the very familiar sound of police sirens filling the air. Sampson didn't listen to them, he focused on dodging the two quick jabs the Turian threw at him, one of which glanced his shields. Sampson got down low and slammed the butt of his shotgun into the Turian's unarmored stomach, the Turian was stunned for a moment, before he slammed both of his fists down onto Sampson's head. Sampson's head was jerked forward, but the Turian's fists were slammed upward, violently reflected by Sampson's shields; Sampson took a second to recover before he quickly - and strongly - leapt upward, his armored head slamming into the Turian's chest. The two slammed into the ground a moment later, and Sampson pinned him to the ground, before he slammed the Turian's head once, twice, three times was enough to knock the Turian out.

_"Corporal Bill Samspon to SSV Nimitz, objective accomplished."_ He called, as he quickly made his way to the OIV.

_"Roger that, Corporal. Opening worm-hole now."_ The Nimitz reported, and just as he jumped back in the OIV, he saw both a wormhole open above it, into warp-space, and several police cars land on the building.

Sampson made the OIV close its door, and six thrusters extended from its exterior, which flared brightly, once was enough to get the pod free from the building, and a second flare was enough to propel it through the wormhole, just as it started taking fire from the police.

* * *

_"Is that damn missile taken out?!"_ Demanded the pilot, as he jerked the shuttle to the left, _"It's gaining on us!"_ He shouted.

_"One moment, Eagle 1!"_ Shouted the pilot of the Quarian's shuttle, and after a quick burst from its machine gun, the shuttle shuddered violently, as the missile that had been following it exploded.

_"Brace yourselves, we're landing quick and hot!" _The Pilot ordered, as the shuttle's thrusters quickly spun around, and flared brightly, quickly killing the shuttle's momentum as it roared towards the landing zone that had been provided for it. It slowed to a hover just as it came a few meters from the LZ, and the rotor blades extended as it came to a landing.

_"Keep the director safe!"_ John Doe S1 ordered one of his fellow Alpha Team mates, she nodded.

The shuttle landed, and the light inside went green. Almost immediately John and the six other SIGMA's sprung into action, and when the ramp opened, they rushed outside as they did during First Contact, weapons aloft, making sure the area was clear of hostiles. The Quarian Marines in the Admiralty Board's shuttle, and N7's in the Turian's shuttle all did the same.

Unfortunately for all parties, the Citadel Council had decided to meet the Alliance at their landing docks, and they brought soldiers identified by Human soldiers as 'Spectres'. The Quarians initially lowered their weapons, but they were urged to do the opposite by the actions of the Humans, who were still in 'combat mode', due to the missile's launch.

_"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN, ON THE GROUND, RIGHT NOW!"_ Shouted a SIGMA from Whyte's shuttle, as the last of the pack stuck her arm out to tell Whyte to stay inside.

* * *

_Oh Goddess… No…_ Thought Tevos, as she saw the Human soldiers roll out of their shuttles with weapons. _I thought these were peace talks?_ She asked of herself, conveniently forgetting that she and Eistan had brought fifteen of their best - _surviving -_ Spectres with them as guards.

_"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN, ON THE GROUND, RIGHT NOW!"_ Shouted one of the larger, more thickly armored Humans, as he and his comrades - even the Quarians - raised their weapons to the Spectres, who in response, raised their own.

_"I'M WARNING YOU, PUT 'EM DOWN!"_ Shouted the giant soldier, his words were converted to the Turian language, and then broadcasted through his helmet's speakers.

"Stand down, stand down!" Said Eistan, trying to contain the situation, "Spectres, lower your weapons and appear non-threatening!" He ordered.

Reluctantly, the Spectres followed these orders, and Tevos - after hearing a muffled voice from a human in one of the bizarre shuttles - saw the Human and Quarian soldiers to the same. She silently breathed an enormous sigh of relief, glad that they'd avoided starting, or _re_starting, a war. Tevos first saw Sparatus get dragged out of his shuttle, he stood high, and proud, despite his current position. The next to leave were the Quarian Admirals, she resisted snorting in disgust, she had _no_ idea why a species would _ally_ with them, let alone bring them to the peace talks, to a war they had more than likely, had done very little to contribute to. The final to come out was a Human, in attire completely different from the soldiers around him. He was also much shorter, by several inches at least, than the soldiers surrounding him. Tevos found this interesting, Asari born into Matriarchy tended to be taller than Clan and Clanless Asari, but that was only a difference of a few inches, these Human Soldiers had to be one or two feet taller than the Human they were protecting, could that mean that the Human equivalent of the matriarchs were the ones who went into the military? That couldn't make any sense, as Asari Matriarchs were most usually politicians or nobles, so why would the Human 'Patriarchs' go the route of a soldier? Wouldn't that be reserved mostly for the 'Human Clanless', or, in other words, their common civilians?

"Greetings." Said Tevos, as she bowed her head slightly, "I welcome you to the Citadel."

"Thank you, Asari Councilor." Said the Human, his voice slightly synthesized by the machine he wore on his ear, which translated his words, and broadcasted them through speakers on a small collar he wore round his neck, "I only wish we'd met under better circumstances."

"Indeed… I am truly sorry for what happened on Earth, when we looked for the Quarians, we did not expect to find another species had taken them in." Said Tevos.

"You need not apologize, Councilor. It was his -" He indicated Sparatus, "- Order to attack Earth, and to attack Admiral Zoran, after that."

Tevos didn't know whether to nod or shake her head, so she simply said, "I see… Well, I believe it is time for us to make our way to the Council's Chambers, to begin negotiations."

The Human nodded, _"Lead the way."_ He said, before he, the Quarians, and Sparatus - as well as the soldiers - all followed the Council to the Rapid Transit, which took them directly to the Presidium Tower.

When they arrived at the landing pad outside the Chambers, Tevos was displeased to see hundreds - _hundreds -_ of reporters polluting the pad. C-Sec was doing a good job of keeping a pathway clear for the Council and the Humans, but they were doing horrible jobs at silencing the reporters.

"Steady your weapons, SIGMA's, it's just the paparazzi." Tevos heard the Human say, she wondered what 'Paparazzi' meant.

The Council, the Humans, and the Quarians made their way through the path, and with every declaration made by the reporters, Tevos' hope for _quiet_ peaceful negotiations sank further and further.

What amazed her, was when the Human halted, raised his hands in a 'quiet down' motion, and selected a single Asari reporter. "I've got time for two questions, but then I'll have to get back to it." He said, before pointing to the Asari.

"Mister… Hooman? Human? What your species may be, I must ask, how do you justify the decision to _fake_ dropping a nuclear weapon on Palaven?" Demanded an Asari, "The casualty counts in _military_ alone, would have outweighed all of your people lost in this war." She pointed out.

"My species is the new kid on the block, ma'am." Said the Human, Tevos assumed he'd just used a Human idiom, "Dropping the bomb is decision I - and many of my subordinates and comrades - am **not** proud of, which is why, in the end, I did the exact opposite." He told them, "This showed you all that, while we may be the new kid, we're got a lot of sticks, and they're all pretty big." His words still slightly synthesized by the machine he used, "Next question?"

A great many reporters raised their Omni-tools and tried to get the Human's attention, the Human chose a Salarian reporter next. "We heard reports from Palaven that your ships didn't use Element Zero as a fuel source, and you used some different method of FTL travel to arrive and begin the attack, how did your species reach into space without Eezo FTL?"

"Simply put, we tear holes in the fabric of the universe, and enter a realm where space/time doesn't exist, and use that to travel. We first did it with Nuclear Fusion and Fission technologies, that got us flying around our solar system." Said Whyte, "But after we realized that we couldn't safely produce enough Nuclear Reactors to power an enormous space fleet, we switched to something much… Much more volatile, that could produce hundreds of times more energy." The Human explained.

"What could produce more energy than Nuclear Fission/Fusion?"

"Antimatter." Said the Human, before he smiled, nodded, and once again followed the Council into the chambers.

* * *

When the Alliance and the Council finally entered the Chambers, the Humans gave up Sparatus to the Council. The Council thanked the Humans, but it was quickly noted that, post-negotiations, he would be remanded into federal custody, and tried for war crimes. He held his head high through this, but many who could read Turian facial and bodily expressions could tell he was a mixture of infuriated, and depressed.

The negotiations had begun simply enough, the species' representatives introduced themselves, and the Council's species summarized their role in Galactic society. The Turians provided [Jason noticed how they'd referred to it in the past-tense] the bulk of the Council's military might, the Asari were mediators and peace-keepers, and the Salarians were in charge of general intelligence. Jason Whyte found it interesting that none of the species - save for Sparatus - mentioned their military might. They only gave him general details that he'd honestly already known, thanks to his excursions into the Comm-buoy network. He also found it interesting, the sense of superiority the Council gave themselves, they had set their podiums much higher than the stand in which he and the Admiralty board found themselves, and all spoke with pride about _their_ specific roles in galactic society, Whyte never once heard about any of the other races, such as the ones he'd read about, the 'Hanar', the 'Drell', or even the 'Volus', whom were supposed to be vital to Galactic Society.

When it came time for Whyte to introduce himself, and his species, he did so with pride.

"My name is Jason Whyte, I am the Director for Alliance Affairs, basically meaning I lead the Human Systems Alliance. The men and women next to me -" He indicated the Quarians, he noted their surprise in his recognition for them "- Are members of the Quarian Admiralty Board, Tierz'Shein, Jorran'Zorah, Sri'Zoran, and Talo'Zorn. Our two species make up the Human Systems Alliance. The Alliance is, simply put, the entirety of every Human and/or Quarian planet, country, city, building and citizen in Human territory. 'Citizen' does in fact, include non-Humans." He explained, "My species is, to say the least, hypocritical in it's actions. We will always, definitely, plead for peace and embrace it, but, as you've seen, we are quite proficient at war. We are quite sad to say that you've only seen us through our warriors, which, to say the very least, is not how we should be judged." Whyte pulled up a few holographic images from the device around his neck, and some from the sleeves of his shirt, "The Alliance is based around a simple concept: Write the legislature for peace, but buy the guns for war. In essence, this means that while we will endlessly try to embrace peace, in all things, we will not hesitate to go into war." He pulled up a hologram of Earth, and Eden, "We have many planets under our banner -" The Admiralty Board and Whyte himself knew this was a lie, only two planets were officially recognized by the Alliance as colony worlds, Earth and Eden, Roof has yet to be declared as recaptured, "The most prominent being these two right here, Earth, and Eden. Earth, our homeworld, is the place from which Humanity and the Systems Alliance sprung forth. Eden is the world we colonized first, and in the half century we've had it, we've turned it from a frontier world into a sprawling hub for Human and now Quarian development." He explained.

"How many planets, specifically, do you have under your banner, Director Whyte?" Asked the Asari Councilor, Tevos.

"Many, Councilor. We have planets colonized for colony purposes, like Eden, we have planets colonized for continuity of species purposes, and we've even planets colonized solely for Military training and development." This was another lie, only Sparta was colonized for this purpose, and it was used entirely for the SIGMA Program, very few ships had actually been built there. (Though there had, in fact, been plans in place to colonize planet 'Titan-6' after Roof had obtained a certain level of development.)

"How in the name of science and engineering can you afford to colonize an entire planet just to advance your armed forces?" Asked Eistan, "It seems like a large waste of time and resources."

In response, Whyte pulled up and expanded an image of a Human Dreadnought, "Councilors, I present to you, the SSV Beautiful Annihilation. It is, simply put, the single most destructive ship ever known to mankind. We constructed it using metals we'd taken and reverse-synthesized from Tuning Gate fragments -"

"Tuning Gate?"

"Your people call them Mass Relays." Elaborated Whyte, "This Dreadnought was the product of one of these worlds." A third lie, but a clever one: The Annihilation hadn't been used in the Earth defensive, and had been hidden from the Turians' eye, so the Council had no choice to accept this as fact.

"How did you reverse synthesize metals from Mass Relays?"

"We used our warp technology to shear off one of the Gates' points." Whyte supplied.

Eistan paused, obviously digesting this information, "For curiosity's sake, how can you afford to make your ships so large? How _do_ you make them so large?" He asked.

"The reason our Frigates, Destroyers, Dreadnoughts, Flagships and Carriers, are so large, when compared to your ships, is, very simply put, because they travel differently." Whyte stated, "We use the warp-drive, which doesn't really 'stop working' when the object its transporting becomes too large, it just needs more power." He explained, "So, in theory, we could make a station the size of a moon, and as long as it had enough power, a Warp Drive could transport it." He explained.

"But that would be -" Eistan was interrupted.

"Enough." Said Sparatus, speaking for the third time since the meeting had started, "I am not here to hear about you and your society. This is a peace negotiations summit, not a science expo."

"Sparatus…" Began Tevos, but the Human cut her off.

"He is right…" He conceded, "I am not truly the man you would want to talk Human society and technology with, you would have to visit one of our worlds to do so." He said, "Shall we begin the true negotiations?"

"Indeed." Nodded Tevos, quickly supplemented by Eistan and Sparatus, "Director Whyte, firstly and foremostly, we must discuss the faux deployment of your bomb on Palaven." She said, "Once and for all, did you _truly_ drop a bomb, anywhere?"

"No." Whyte stated, simply.

"But... Why?" She asked, "Why did you do things, the way you did?"

"Because, Tevos... I listened." He stated, boldly. "You see, the Alliance Parliament _gave_ me the clearance to drop a bomb on Palaven. Not the one I faked throwing, but one of similar damage." He explained, "I told the Quarian Admirals, that I _was_ going to drop it... And had they said nothing, I would have." He stated, "But... Despite _everything_ you've done to them... Despite centuries of neglect, of racism, and of outright ignoring, the Quarian Admiralty board all _but begged_ for me to reconsider my actions... Despite the fact that, had you had your way, you would have no-doubt ejected them back into their migrant days, and all but told them to go to extinct, they begged me to spare Palaven... And after listening to what they said... I realized that it was the right choice." He said, before he paused, "In other words..." He looked directly at Sparatus, "Your homeworld was saved by five second-class suit rats." He stated, bluntly.

If Whyte had the ability to read Turian facial expressions, he would have understood that the look upon Sparatus' face - the clenching mandibles, the widened eyes, and the clamped jaw - would be one of utter, rage. Whyte had all but called Sparatus - the entire _council - _ignorant fools, for not listening or helping the Quarians, and then had proceeded to tell them that the Quarians _pitied_ them!

Before Sparatus could speak, though, Tevos interjected, "I see…" Said Tevos, "We will have to speak at length with the Quarians, and rediscuss their status as Citadel Species." She said, but before she could continue, Zoran spoke.

"I apologize, Councilor, but I speak upon behalf of the Admiralty Board, and the ex-Migrant Fleet... when I say that we shall remain with the _Humans."_ He emphasized the word 'Human'.

"But... That would make you a non-Citadel race!" Tevos pointed out, inwardly ecstatic that she wouldn't have to eat her centuries old words.

"We understand this." Said Zoran, with a nod, inwardly giddy at the fact that Tevos didn't know how true her words were about to ring.

"We've gotten far off track, though." Said Whyte, "First and foremost, we must talk reparations." He stated, not hearing Sparatus' near-silent growl.

"What are you requesting?" Asked Tevos, curious, as to what the Human would want, she assumed he would either ask for weapons, ships, or Eezo tech, given the militaristic nature his species seemed to take.

"Resources." Whyte stated, bluntly. "We want enough _raw_ resources to rebuild the Earth, and then half again as reparations."

The Council was silent, for a few moments, before Tevos spoke, "You realize that, with the damages you've given us, the amount of resources you would need to rebuild could put whatever species who supplies them, in debt." She pointed out.

"That is the nature of war, Councilor." Whyte said, "I will certainly send you data packets, with the projected needs to get our cities back to their old states, and then what we would need as reparations." He added.

Tevos was silent; "Who would you have donate these resources?" Asked Eistan.

"The same ones who attacked us..." Said the Human, "The Turian Hierarchy."

"I refuse." Stated Sparatus, "We need our resources, now more than -"

"Do you _really_ think you are in a position to argue, Councilor?" Whyte asked, boldly, "Think of your position here... Each of your decisions the last few months have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Turians... So do you really think you should outright deny my request?" He asked.

Sparatus was outraged, but not at the Human himself, but at the fact that the Human's point made _sense! _

Sparatus sighed, "Fine." He said, "The Hierarchy can donate its resources, as reparations to the damages we caused in Human Territory." He said.

Whyte nodded, "Thank you kindly, Councilor." He said.

The room was silent for a moment, before Tevos decided now was as good a time as ever, "Human, though not all of us agree, _it is_ protocol for a newly discovered species to be absorbed into the Citadel community." She said, and though she almost knew that the Humans would deny, she had to continue, "Should you accept, the Humans and the Systems Alliance will be declared a client race, and you -" She nodded to the Quarians "- a client of _theirs_." She said.

Zoran made to speak, but Whyte cut him off with a quick look, which Zoran recognized; Whyte seemed to find this idea amusing, "And what would my species have to do in order for this relationship to work?" He asked, after looking back to the Councilors.

"Ninety five percent of your fleets - including that of the Quarians - must be decommissioned immediately. In addition, you must give us any and all secrets as to your travel technology, weapons technology, and shielding technologies. Specifically, what you use to supersede FTL travel, the energy-weapons you used to blow apart the Palaven Defense fleet, and the barriers that shield your soldiers and ships." Explained Eistan, he too almost _knew_ that the Humans wouldn't accept, but protocol was protocol, and, he reasoned, the Humans had amazed them before, maybe they would again? "As well, these… Flag ships, your people use? All but one must be decommissioned, the same goes for your Dreadnoughts, but you may keep five of them."

"Is there anything else?"

"We are under the impression you have Artificial intelligences integrated wholly in your society. These must all be dismantled and destroyed immediately upon absorption into the Citadel governments." Said Sparatus, a little smugly.

"I see… Well… Allow me to point out some fallacies in your argument." Jason paused, "Firstly, the Alliance fleets - save for a majority of Quarian ships, which are far too old and decrepit to function any further - will not be decommissioned. It was thanks to our numbers that we were able to defend Earth and counter attack at Palaven." Sparatus made to speak, but Whyte held his hand up, silencing him, "Secondly, our technological secrets? They remain ours. If you want to understand warp drives, anti-matter engines, and Particle Beams, you will have to work for it. This is why you do not base all of your technologies upon reverse engineered precursor technology, there will come a point where you have none left to copy." He continued, "Thirdly, the AI's are integrated, as you said, wholly within our society. So dismantling them would be disastrous on many levels. And, to be honest, I happen to know you won't do anything if we don't dismantle them. The Batarian Slavers that run rampant within Citadel Space are proof enough of your inaction." He paused, "However... We will be willing to work to a compromise on our Energy Shields..." He said, but he left no room for the Councilors to continue, "And finally, I speak for everyone in the Human Systems Alliance, both Human and Quarian, and _any_ other species that may find themselves wishing to join us… We as a society, refuse to join the Citadel Community."

"This is an outrage!" Sparatus didn't skip a beat, "You refuse to give us your technological secrets, you refuse to dismantle your fleets and lessen your armies! And now you refuse the _honor_ of being asked to join the Citadel Community!? You go _too far_ Human!" He roared.

"Director, you must consider your words…" Said Tevos, for once, not choosing to scold Sparatus. Whyte noted that something seemed to break in her mediator façade, he could see _rage_ in her eyes, cleverly hidden by a stoic, kind face, "You must realize what you are refusing, here..." She began, "You are denying the Citadel Council, as your ally... The Asari Republic as your advisors and mediators." She said.

"The Salarian Union as your partners in science and engineering." Said Eistan.

And though everyone could tell he wasn't happy about it, Sparatus added, "And the Turian Hierarchy as your defenders."

Whyte shook his head, "That is exactly why I do not wish to have my species join the Citadel Council." He stated, "You all just proved it. You all only focus upon yourselves." He began, "What of the Vol Protectorate?" He asked, "They are the ones who, in essence, _created_ the Galactic economy. They made the credit, they made the universal currency, and yet they have no seat upon your council, they have no mention in your advantages." He stated, "What of the Hanar's Illuminated Primacy? They and the Drell are both working tirelessly for your _recognition,_ but the most you are willing to do is - at bare minimum - keep the Hanar - and, please excuse the expression - afloat, and cast out the Drell as second class." He stated, "And what of the Batarian Hegemony? They blatantly disregard _all_ of your laws against slavery, and you, In response, disregard _them."_ He finished.

"You -"

"Is that what my people would have to look forward to, if we joined the Citadel?" He asked, "We have allied ourselves with AI, would we be disregarded entirely because of that?" He asked, "We look after our own, Quarians included! Would we be cast down because of that? We defeated the Turians in battle, would you attempt to 'pacify' us as you did the Krogan?" He demanded, "No, you will not... Because, and I speak for every Human being in Alliance Space when I say this, the Human Systems Alliance will _not_ join the Citadel Council, and _will_ be its own entity, entirely separate from the Citadel Council, and its allies." He finished.

Dead silence, for several moments, followed Whyte's declaration.

"No one in history has declined to join the Citadel Community. _No one._" Said Eistan, "Not even the Quarians." He looked directly at the Admiralty Board, and then back to the Human; he would never admit it, but he was secretly hoping that the Humans would remain steadfast in this opinion, it would be incredibly interesting, from a scientific perspective, to see the Humans advance alongside the Citadel, as opposed to with them.

"Councilors, I can tell you here and now, we back the Humans one hundred percent on this." Said Sri'Zoran, "In a few months, the Humans have done more for our people than your entire government did in hundreds of years." He stated.

"You were being punished -"

_"For a crime their ancestors committed!"_ Shouted Whyte, he too, momentarily abandoned his peaceful expression and tone, "You doomed an entire species to die because of a mistake made hundreds of years ago. But this is besides the point…" He said, regaining his tone, and waving off the subject, as he knew it would be exhausted in great detail, later. "We will draw borders on a map for you, but everything within those borders will be ours. All planets colonized by us and our's, all people who've applied for citizenship, everyone." He explained, "The Human Systems Alliance will be it's own entity, aside from the Citadel Council, and aside from the Terminus systems. We make our own laws, build our own ships, and live and advance our own way. We will open up an embassy on the Citadel, but not as a client race, but rather as a true, embassy for a foreign power." He'd chosen his last word carefully, and had decided that it would be best to once again reference his species' military strength, as well as making a subtle hint to the fact that, despite most-likely assured victory on the Council's end, should war come, any victory would be pyrrhic at best.

This silenced the Council for several moments, before they began deliberating amongst themselves. Whyte and the Admirals heard Sparatus' voice be raised many a time, but after what seemed like an eternity, the three separated and resumed their positions at their podiums.

"Director… Before we make a decision, we must ask you something."

"I will answer what I am able."

"We heard reports that you have bio-mechanically augmented soldiers in your midst… These soldiers were able to take on entire cities and villages on Palaven in five to six man squads… Are these rumors true? Or are they unfounded?"

Whyte smiled, he could tell them the truth. The SIGMA I Program was common knowledge at this point.

"These rumors are true. SIGMA Operatives are the single most lethal and efficient warrior to have ever existed in Human History." Whyte explained, "Through a process taking many years, they are trained in the most brutal ways possible, to toughen up their bodies to make them ready for the bio-mechanical augmentations they need to have their edge. They are true super-soldiers, and they are, simply, the best there is, period. You would need entire armies to take down an experienced fifty-man battalion of SIGMA Operatives. You would need the might of the Galaxy to take down the program itself. They are better than your best, they are walking, talking, thinking, Human Weapons of Mass Destruction."

"I find your statements of these soldiers' skill to be very over-exaggerated." Said Sparatus.

"They took down _yours." _Whyte stated, "And I'll add, many of the bigger-scale victories that happened on Palaven, meaning cities falling and military bases burning, happened either _directly because of,_ or with the assistance of, our SIGMA Operatives." He said, 'conveniently' managing to forget that the SIGMAs had taken incalculable losses throughout the course of the war.

"I too find it hard to believe..." Said Eistan, "You mean to tell us you have an entire branch of military, based around bio-technologically augmented 'Super Soldiers'...?" He asked, "I've never even heard of the term..." He stated, and - though Whyte didn't believe him - this was true, Salarian special forces tended to rely heavily upon brutal training, extensive mental preparation, and many tech and machine based advantages, augmented soldiers had at one point been a point of research, but due to the Salarian life-span, the idea had essentially been thrown out.

"I do, Councilor." Said Whyte, "But, I'm afraid, the exact details of the program are classified." He said.

* * *

The Council had been adjourned for a ten minute break, as both the Alliance and Council parties saw a break was warranted after the many bomb shells each side had dropped. Currently, the Council was embroiled in an intense discussion about the Alliance's decision to form a sovereign governmental entity. Sparatus' stance was that the Council should cripple the Humans and force them to absorb into the Citadel governments, Tevos believed that the Council should convince the Humans to join their society in a more peaceful manner, while Eistan truly believed things might go better if the Humans were left to their own devices.

"Think about it, Councilors." Said Eistan, "They could colonize the Attican Traverse, and bring a civilized level of development to the area. We two governments could enter a mutually beneficial alliance, as long as one doesn't attack the other we could live in peace!" He explained.

"There is _no_ peace with these Humans." Said Sparatus, "Just _look_ at the documents we were given, the overview of their history says enough! A period of one hundred years is known as the _Era _of _War!"_ He declared, "If we do not cripple them and _force_ them to accept **_our_** terms, they will no doubt attack us of their own volition!"

"Councilors, the answer lie right in front of us. We cannot afford - least of all, _now_ - to patrol two borders, simultaneously. Since the crippling of the Hierarchy's Navy, only two fleets remain with which to patrol the Terminus borders. If we allow them to form their own government, their own society, we would have to divert more ships that we very simply _do not have_. We _must_ convince them to join us, we cannot afford them _not_ to!" Tevos argued.

"Councilors, look at what we have done to them, look at what _they_ have done to _us_!" Said Eistan, "Neither Civilian populaces will accept that option!"

"Explain." Requested Tevos.

"The Humans _literally_ hold the power to change face of Palaven in five minutes. In two weeks they have been responsible for over eleven _million_ Turian deaths, and those are just the ones we've confirmed!" Said Eistan, "Your people are still going through the rubble of their orbital bombings, and finding more dead! As well, the Turians were responsible for millions of Human deaths. If we give them client status, neither civilian populaces - be they Human or Citadel - would accept it. Riots, revolts, cries for impeachment, pleas for war, you name it, they will want it." Said Eistan, "If we allow them to be their own entity, we can avoid that! We can enter a mutually beneficial alliance, we could show them our technologies as a sign of trust, we could teach them to mine Element Zero, we could allow their soldiers to participate in our Training Programs, and vice-versa, we could allow our civilians and people to colonize with them." He continued, "And, if we allowed them to create their own government… and it _failed_!… We could save them from economic collapse, _we_ could be the saviors, and show all others that _our_ system is the one that works! That forming your own union is _not_ the successful option."

"I see… But what if it _doesn't_ fail?"

"Then we enter the alliance. We show them the secrets to Mass Accelerator technology, to Element Zero, we give their soldiers cross-training opportunities in order to promote positive relationships. We allow theirs and ours civilians and people to colonize with the others, we can turn this into a Council victory _either way we do it!"_ Eistan insisted.

"I do not approve."

_"You_… Councilor Sparatus… Are the reason we have to make this decision! Had you not ordered the attack on the Humans, not only would half of Palaven still be capable of supporting life, but we could have turned them into a client race!" Said Tevos, "And you have swayed me, Eistan… I believe your ideas will work."

"Then are we in agreement?" Asked Eistan.

"Yes." Said Tevos.

"No. But seeing as how I have little sway in this decision, I shall publicly agree." Said Spatatus.

"Good."

* * *

"Hey, Yusef, wake up." Said Jason Whyte, as he lightly jostled an AI Disk.

_"You know, Director, I'm never asleep. There's no need to shake my domicile."_ Said a synthesized voice, as it's holographic form took shape of a middle eastern man. _"What can I do for you?"_

"I brought you here so I could get something done for the AAF, we want a backdoor into _all_ Citadel Systems…" Began Whyte.

_"And because the Council Aliens don't use AI's, a Synth-Human was the greatest possible choice." _The hologram nodded, _"I like your ideas, Director. How do you plan to get me inside?"_

"Like this…" Whyte looked up, and the AI turned around, to a small electronic podium.

_"Is that what I think it is?"_

_"Hello!"_ Said a voice, after Whyte pressed a button, _"Welcome to the Presidium. I am Avina, how can I help you today?"_ Asked the Virtual Intelligence, it's words translated by Whyte's machine.

_"When did you learn about this, sir?"_

"While I was looking around the Council's Codex. Can you hack into it?"

_"You're joking sir… __**Can**__ I? The better question is how fast __**can**__ I?"_ The AI paused, _"By the way, I got in the second she appeared. Check this out…"_

_"Greetings, Director Jason Whyte, would you like your usual Hamburger with cheese?"_ Asked the Virtual Intelligence, with a very distinctly American southern accent.

Whyte had to resist laughing, because he knew that the aliens in the next room over would wonder why he was. "Great Job, Yusef. Transfer yourself inside, and don't forget to always look out for orders."

_"Yes sir."_ Said the AI, before it fired off a quick salute, and then disappeared, turning the small palm-sized, several million dollar disk into a paper-weight.

* * *

"So let us recap… The Humans have as much - if not more - ingenuity than our people… They fight more fiercely than Krogan… are much more politically fierce than an Asari, and are loyal _to boot!_" Said Sri'Zoran, "Who in the name of the Ancestors did we stumble upon, and how in the name of the Ancestors can we do it _again_?" He asked.

"I cannot believe he managed to silence the entire Citadel Council…" Said Talo'Zorn.

"_I_ cannot believe his guards faced down several Krogan with little more than side-arms, and lived!" Tierz'Shein said.

"Can you truly believe he asked for sovereignty, and independence?" Asked Jorran'Zorah, "He refused the Council's offer! He would rather the entirety of his race - and ours! - be it's own government and military power!"

"Sometime soon I can almost guarantee these Humans will change the Galaxy… Truly, look at all they've done in less three months month! They - with barely any help from us - obliterated the majority of the Turian Navy, burned them off of their world like you would a leech, and then proceeded to decimate their Home-world defense so they could _pretend_ deploy a weapon so fierce it can - _and could_ - bring the Galaxy to it's knees! And then they proceeded to hack into Galactic communications - giving them the opportunity to shut _everything_ down, if they saw fit, - and when they spoke politics to the Council, saw _us_ as equals, and refused the Citadel Council on every point! They even went so far as to _demand_ a sovereign status as their own society, apart from the Citadel Governments!" Declared Sri'Zoran, "These Humans have the power to do what _no one_ in the Galaxy could, they _can_… And I'm willing to say **_will _**change the Galaxy one day!"

"Admirals…" Said a Marine, interrupting the conversation as he peered into the room, "They are reconvening."

* * *

"Greetings, once again, Councilors. I hope you have come to a decision…" Said Jason Whyte.

"Yes, Director, we have." Said Tevos, "We will be willing to have peace… And will accept your forming of your own society and government, alongside the Citadel Council… But certain conditions must be met."

_I'm the one who got the Turians to surrender… And _they're_ making demands? _Thought Whyte, "What do you want?" He asked, politely.

"Firstly, no Human military ships are to cross over into Citadel Territory without prior permission or clearance. The same will go for Citadel ships." Said Tevos, "Secondly, we ask that you allow Citadel civilians to live amongst your people, and the other way around as well." She continued, Jason found himself wondering if there would be any _true_ demands, or if they were just trying to continue to look the part of a tough leadership. "Fifthly, we ask that a… Mutually beneficial alliance be entered between our two species."

"Please… Explain." Requested Whyte.

"Quite simply, one government will not attack the other without just cause. We will trade technologies and allow cross-colonization, meaning that one society's civilians can come to live with another's, we request that you decommission much of your fleets, and adhere to Citadel military conventions, and that all attempts be made to increase trust and friendship between our two societies." Said Tevos, "As well, any technology belonging to the Prothean Empire, it is to be shared equally between all species, in all governments."

_There it is. She masked it up with lighter details, but I saw it._ Thought Whyte, "I can accept all but one of those conditions, Councilor. I explained this earlier, but we will not decommission any of our ships, or ground any of our fleets. Our ship numbers are our business, especially given the fact that we are to be our own entity. We need ships and people to defend ours, and thus, we create as many as we need." He explained, "I can slow down the production of ships… But since the Turians attacked us, I can all but guarantee you that will be an extremely temporary solution."

"How temporary?"

"I give it a year before we are producing ships at the level we have been since first space-flight." Said Whyte.

Tevos sighed, before she and the Councilors entered another round of deliberation. It was several minutes before they reached a decision.

"Could you possibly delay ship production by… fifty percent… For five years, as the Citadel Navies rebuild their losses?" Asked Tevos.

"I can give you three years, but even that's pushing it."

"Four years, and we can add in a recently discovered dextro-amino planet." Said Tevos, pulling out her trump card, and ignoring the outraged, and enraged look on Sparatus' face.

At this declaration, Whyte spoke to the Quarian admirals, Tevos thought she saw the shadow of a smile appear on Whyte's face for an instant, before it disappeared and he resumed his position. "We can give you four years, but no ships currently in service in the Alliance Navy will be decommissioned." Whyte stated.

Tevos suddenly had the suspicion that she was being tricked, "Very well… Now we ask you to proclaim your territory, so we can begin to draw borders." She said, before a galaxy map appeared in front of the Human.

"Nikola, you've got this one?" Asked the Human, as he pulled out a disk that was about as large as his palm. A moment later a holographic depiction of an elderly Human appeared.

"Yes, Director… One moment." A moment passed before the Galaxy map turned gray, and a small cluster nearest the bottom was given color, before it was outlined in a large, dark orange line.

"This, Councilors, is the extent of Human Territory. Three colonized planets - including the one you attacked, before Earth - and one military development world." He explained.

To say that the Council was surprised would be an understatement.

"You have only colonized _three_ worlds?" She asked, "And you have been a space-flight civilization for nearly a century?" She didn't believe it. This species had a military that brutalized the Turians in numbers and training, and could rival the Krogan in ferocity, and they somehow were content with only three planets.

"Our people were rather fearful of what we would find, Councilor. I can all but guarantee you, that now that we know of your society, and what we are dealing with, we will be expanding our borders by a considerable amount." Said Whyte, "Nikola, highlight Council territory in Blue, Terminus in red, unclaimed is to remain grey." A moment later the Galaxy map reflected his orders. The largest portion was the Blue of the Citadel - there was even a portion closest to the Humans that was blue, Tevos recognized it as Batarian territory - and then the Terminus Systems was next, before a large majority of the Attican Traverse was still gray.

"We graciously request that the territory still in gray be declared Alliance territory, as we move outwards." The true-color of the map expanded outwards from Alliance Territory, at a leisurely pace.

"You realize, Director, that there are _hundreds_ of planets within the Attican Traverse…" Said Tevos.

"Yes." Said Whyte, "But opposed to the thousands your people have access to? We will be content with this." Said Whyte.

"Content?" Asked Tevos, "Very few species, we have ever discovered, have said they would be 'content' with a small number of planetary bodies... Why would such an area be enough for you?" She asked.

"My people have been content with only one planet for two thousand years... And for a half century _after_ we could travel through space, we were content with only _one_ planet, and only in the last few months, did we colonize another." Whyte explained, "Having a few hundred planets within our borders, would be more than enough for us." He stated, "And besides that, we still have the technology to move the Tuning Gates from our territory, so if you attempted to attack us, and win a war on territory, we could isolate ourselves to begin preparing for a counter attack." He finished; it had been decided by Alliance Parliament that Whyte _wouldn't_ make mention of the fact that Humanity would be actively colonizing worlds _outside_ the influence of Tuning Gates. They would colonize 'Tuning Worlds' slowly, to keep up appearances, but now that they knew what was around the 'celestial corner', they realized that they didn't have as much to fear as they thought, and could now colonize much quicker than they had previously.

"You think of every little decision with a military standpoint… And yet you claim to want peace… What is it?" Asked Sparatus, "Do you want planets for colonies or for your military!?"

"Both." Said Whyte, "We will primarily colonize for social purposes. However for every three planets we have for socio-economic purposes, we will have one dedicated to producing mechs, ships, tanks, etcetera."

Sparatus growled in response, the Human's answer made sense, and he didn't like that.

"So… Your borders to your systems will expand as you colonize, that is what you are saying." Said Eistan, changing the subject.

"Yes." Said Whyte, "We will respect your borders, and as such will only expand into this gray area." He said, indicating the Attican Traverse.

"We can agree to this… However we will warn you, the Batarian Hegemony makes a sizable portion of it's territory within what you are colonizing… They are a part of the Citadel community, and therefore fall under our jurisdiction." Explained Tevos, "Attacks on them will be considered attacks on us."

"Councilor… Firstly I tell you this, we will leave the Hegemony a sizeable amount of territory with which to expand -" The Batarian's blue zone expanded on the galaxy map "-But incursions into our territory will be considered attacks from the species that does the attack. We would never invade and attack all species simultaneously. Should we ever be attacked though, we will respond in force." The Human stated.

Tevos sighed, "Retaliatory strikes are one thing, Director Whyte… But full scale invasions -"

"Would only ever be conducted, in retaliation." He interrupted.

She sighed again, this Human was becoming annoying, it would have been far simpler if he'd just joined with the Council. "Alright… Now… Your studies into Artificial Intelligence…"

"Councilor, this topic has been exhausted. We know of your fear of the Geth, and we know why you fear them: They are an unknown factor. I can tell you right now, Synth-Humans are a known factor. We have lived with them in harmony for a half century, and will continue to live with them. We will not dismantle them at all, however in accordance with your society's laws, we will limit their use to solely military and travel-functions outside of our own territory."

This surprised Tevos, when last the Council had been faced with a societal matter like this, the Batarians refused to give any headway. This Human was willing to compromise? "Could you explain?" She asked.

"Our Artificial Intelligences are integral to our Military and Travel systems. While we are completely capable of using the warp-drive and other such technologies without them, they are used to make the processes much easier. The only AI's you'll see in your territory are the Ambassador's AI, and the ship-borne Artificial Intelligences. Whether or not you allow our civilians to take their AI's into your territory, is your own decision." Whyte elaborated.

"You'd be willing to give up an integrated societal factor?" Asked Tevos, she didn't believe it.

"That is not what I said. AI's will still be quite prevalent in our territory, as will the research and advancement of the Artificial Intelligence and synthetic life. What I said is I'm willing to compromise when it comes to AI's in Citadel territory, because I know your kind and your society holds great fear of the AI." Whyte said.

The Council spoke for several minutes at this, and eventually Eistan spoke, "We will allow Artificial Intelligences in Citadel territory, _only_ on Human Ships, and in the Alliance Embassy." He explained, "Commercial AI's and other such things shall not be allowed without express permission from the Council, or unless it is a medical matter."

Whyte nodded, "Thank you, Councilors."

* * *

The negotiations went on like this for several hours. The current Human borders were drawn at their outermost worlds, and they would be expanded as each planet was added under Alliance territory. The Relays to Roof - which had been removed during the aftermath of the Earth invasion - would be replaced, however to travel to and from Eden and Earth, one would have to board an Alliance transport, as the Charon Relay and it's partners would not be replaced. It was also decided that any non-humans [Aside from Quarians] were well within their rights to live within Alliance territory [Even on Earth] however they would have to apply for citizenship in order to do so; Quarians being exempt, as they were already allies of the Human race, and all were residing within their territory. As well, in the aftermath of the negotiations, the Human Systems Alliance Parliament came to an agreement that for every five planets the Humans colonized outside of the Relay network, they would colonize one that was accessible via Mass Relay.

The Alliance Navy's ship-production would be halved for a minimum of four years, as the Turian navy scrambled to rebuild their losses in the Human-Turian war. Though no Human ships that were fit for service, or could be fixed for service, would be decommissioned, as well, all Quarian ships that the Admiralty Board would allow would be formally absorbed into the Alliance Navy, and dry-docked and upgraded with Alliance shield generators, armor, and weapons. [Alliance AI's would not be present in Quarian ships].

The Quarian race was then declared to be not a Client race to the Humans, but equal partners and allies. While the Council didn't agree they watched the developments with interest.

Jason Whyte, upon arrival at the _newly finished_ Arcturus Station, smiled. He was the first Alliance Director to sit in the Director's office, and despite the actual _lack_ of anything such, he enjoyed the 'new office smell'.

But of course, he wouldn't be able to for long. He'd been told that Christopher and Jason McGraw had been both requested to leave Alliance Territory, to have an at-length discussion with several Salarian scientists and Engineers, on some Council television show. Before that, however, McGraw junior had something he wished to discuss, and when he entered Whyte's room with_out_ a noisy 'hello', Whyte knew it meant business.

"Good evening, mister McGraw." Said Whyte, as he bade for Chris to sit. As Chris did so, Whyte mentally sighed, with content. The war was _done_, and once the year was out, he'd retire to Eden, just like he'd said he would. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.

"Well, first off, _nice station,_ Director." Said Chris, as he looked at the ceiling, "I heard they were going to take some sort of... Tar-form Tuning Metals and spread it across its exterior? Nice thinking." He mentioned, "But anyways, that's not what I'm here about." He said, before he took out a small data pad, and placed it upon Whyte's desk.

Whyte took the data pad, and skimmed through its title.

**_(Potentially) Top Secret!_**

**_Alliance Special Forces Program:_**

_SIGMA II (Two__)_

* * *

_Codex Updated:_

Alliance Naval Vessels:

_Frigate;_

_Known as the 'thief ships' among Alliance Naval Men, the Alliance Frigate is known best as the most maneuverable ship in the Alliance Naval Arsenal.  
Typically around 300 - 400 Meters long, 'normal' frigates are used most for hit and run tactics, as well as supplementing and protecting Flagships and Dreadnoughts. _

_Recently, the Alliance has been placing large amounts of funding into a line of 'stealth-reconnaissance' frigates, which use optical camouflage as well as other experimental technologies, such as containing heat signatures, but progress is slow. _

_Carrier (And, by proxy, Supercarrier):_

_Alliance Carriers are somewhat of an unknown in alien societies, they were actually among the first ships made by the Systems Alliance, during Humanity's early days in space.  
Alliance Carriers' primary jobs are twofold: To insert overwhelming aerial/special fighter forces, and troop-transport and deployment. While other ships - Frigates, Dreadnoughts, Flagships - are all definitely capable of deploying troops, and limited fighters, Carriers are the most effective at deploying fighters and troops.  
The Alliance Orbital Dropping Death Dealers make near universal use of the Alliance Carrier, as they are much more capable of holding, storing, and transporting their orbital insertion vehicles.  
Near the end of the Second Contact War, the Alliance completed its very first Super Carrier, which were considerably larger than Alliance Carriers, and thus have a farther range and a considerable amount more troops and fighters.  
There are currently plans to only field five Super Carriers, due to the immense costs of making them. _

Second Contact War:

_The Human System Alliance's entry onto the Galactic Scale is seen by some as the first failure of the Citadel Council, while others see it as the defining reason of why galactic security should be a duty of all, and not solely one race. _

_Regardless, in later 2201 (CE) the Human Systems Alliance, while scouting out potential Colonization Planets, the Humans came into contact with the Quarian Migrant Fleet, which was, at the time, fleeing from the Eidesche Incident. After making a successful, peaceful First Contact with the Migrant Fleet, the Humans proceeded to scramble to make room for the rapidly failing and deteriorating fleet on their only colony, 'Eden'. For six months the Humans and Quarians lived in peace, until the Turians - seeking retribution - attacked the Quarians, mistaking them for owning the Human world, 'Roof'. Upon routing all the Quarians and Humans from Roof, they sought to attack what they thought was the main world the Quarians were settling, the Turians believing that the Quarians had lied to the Humans and convinced them that they were the ones being wronged. _

_Upon arriving at Earth, the Turian Navy - consisting of several Hierarchy fleets - was attacked by the Human 'Summer Fleet', the term for the fleet that consists of every Alliance Warship all joined together. The Turians, naively believing that if they continued the attack above the Human homeworld, that they could win, refused to retreat._

_After destroying the Turian Fleet, and defeating their forces on Earth, the Humans proceeded to counter attack at Palaven, the Turian homeworld. After attacking the Citadel and abducting ex-Councilor Sparatus, the Humans proceeded to force the war to end, marking the first time in millennia that the Turian Hierarchy was completely and utterly defeated by an enemy force. _

* * *

_A/N:_

_Hey folks!  
Thanks for reading!  
Please don't forget to check out my profile, for updates on this (And other) stories, a pretty big one about TFW should be coming pretty soon. _

_Thanks again!_

_- ProfFartBurger_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N:_

I'm back!  
Who missed me? :D

Sorry for the hiatus, for those of you that didn't know (Or never checked my profile), I was in Connecticut for a week, and had no access to a laptop, so I couldn't get to work on newer chapters.  
But, I'm back now, and now, without further ado, we're off!:

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

_December 13th, 2201_

* * *

"SIGMA... Twos?" Jason Whyte read, not sure if he'd read the title of the document correctly.

"Yup." Said Christopher McGraw, "Have you _seen_ the casualty counts, for the SIGMA Program?" He asked, "We started out, before the Second Contact War, with _exactly_ Five Million soldiers." He explained, Whyte had only recently heard the now official title for the recently concluded war, the 'Second Contact' war, he didn't quite like the name, but he knew it would be better than calling it the 'Turian War', as that may end up causing some violence on the Human/Council borders. "Now that all is said and done, we've got _just_ over four hundred thousand." He stated, "Why, though?" He asked, "The SIGMA Operatives were supposed to be unbeatable, undefeatable, indestructible _super soldiers..._ Through seven years of the most intense training known to mankind, they would be taken from ordinary men and women and turned into super humans... But when they were met with the Turian SIGMA's, they were outmatched." He stated, before Whyte could ask him how he knew of the Turian SIGMAs, he continued speaking, "Sure, the two's skills were comparable, but the Turian SIGMAs were, essentially, too damn good. They had much more experience than ours, and despite the fact that we won just as many battles as we lost, against them, they still killed much more of ours than we killed theirs." He stated, before he pointed at the data pad, "That outlines how we'll make the children of the Ones, better." He stated.

Jason looked at McGraw, "How did you know of all that?" He asked, "The Turian SIGMAs, the casualties... That was all classified top secret." He stated.

Chris shrugged, but had a slight grin on his face as he did so, "I've got my sources sir, some seem to be more reliable than others." He stated.

Jason waited a moment, before he started skimming over the document. He read of entirely new augmentation procedures, of bio-mechanical augmentations, in conjunction with pharmaceutical and drug-based enhancements. Chemicals, nano-machines, it was all in the new augmentations, but Whyte almost forgot it all, when he got to the training procedures.

"Wait, what?" Demanded Whyte, "Am I reading this right, you want to recruit Children?" He said, his calm tone betraying his outrage, "How could you even think of putting Children, through training procedures that break most grown men?" He asked.

"Think of it, Director." Said Chris, "I've noticed it, and I'm pretty sure a lot of others have noticed it, but have _you_ noticed, that the marines and soldiers that start out a lifelong military career, straight out of highschool, tend to be _just_ that much more effective, than the twenty and thirty-somethings, that stick it out for one or two tours?" He asked, before he pointed at the data pad, "I employ the same reasoning, but on a slightly more extreme scale." He said, "But... I do have another point to make, that further explains my reasoning." He added, "Tell me, director... How much attention did you pay, to your ancient history classes?" He asked, "Because I find the section on ancient Greece to be quite interesting, in this context."

Whyte nodded, in his younger years he'd been fascinated with pre-history, especially the ancient Greeks, therefor, he knew what the young scientist was getting at, "Spartans." He stated, plainly.

Chris nodded, "The Spartans of ancient Greece were all solely focused on one thing, and one thing _only."_ He stated, "War. But they didn't simply settle for training their men to be unbeatable, they realized that _that _wouldn't give them good enough results... So they began training their young, from near-infancy, to adulthood. They trained their bodies to _instantly_ know how best to kill their enemies, when given any sort of weapon. They trained their minds to _instantly_ know how best to dodge, deflect, or parry a blow when they were attacked." He stated, "And their goal of creating undefeatable soldiers, worked. They created soldiers so effective, that three hundred were able to hold off _thousands,_ and may have been able to do so indefinitely, had they not been betrayed." Chris explained, "They were so talented at war, efficient at battle, and brutal in general, that it took a several-nation coalition, to take down their relatively small city-state." He told the Director, "So _imagine_ what we could do now, with modern augmentation technology, modern weapons and armor, modern _tactics_... And add in Super Soldiers trained from birth, paired with AI's given to them from young ages, and mother fucking Kronos Armor, Mark Two, and in each soldier you'll have your own, personal, walking, talking, thinking, shooting, bio-technologically augmented Weapon of Mass Destruction." He finished.

"But you're still kidnapping children... Innocent, Human children... To turn them into soldiers." Whyte pointed out, "Do you _know_ the casualty-rate for the augmentation process?" He asked, "Add in these additions you're outlining, you could kill more than you recruit..." He stated.

"I know the casualty rate, its every six men out of ten, who either die or get crippled." Chris responded, "That's where the pharmaceutical augmentations come in. You give 'em to the kids when they hit fourteen, and their bodies will toughen up for four more years in preparation for the 'real' augmentations." He stated, "But that's not the point, the _point_ is that if we raise even a thousand SIGMAs from childhood, to be Super Soldiers, we'd have a thousand super soldiers that are twice as effective as the Turian SIGMAs... In theory, at least. Where the Turian SIGMAs could take out three SIGMA I's, ten Turians couldn't take out one SIGMA II." He stated.

"But assume for a moment we do this, how would we cover up the mass abduction of a thousand children?" Whyte asked.

"Orphans." Chris stated, plainly, "There's bound to be a shit load of them, given the Human Deaths in the SCW." He said, "We send out Alliance Central Intelligence operatives out, pretending to be grieving widows or sad parents who've lost kids, we get the best looking kids, who fit a light criteria, and then we ship 'em off to Sparta." He explained, "We train 'em until they're fourteen, then we give 'em the pharmaceutical augs. We train 'em till they're eighteen, then we give 'em the bio-mechanical augs. Then they're 'true' soldiers, ready for combat, and we continue to train them." He finished.

"How inhumane do you think we are?" Whyte asked, "You're talking _Children, _McGraw... Taking _Children_ from their homes, and thrusting them, without any choice, into a life of war... I do not think I am ready to make that decision, McGraw." He said.

"Then think about the good of the Human Race, Whyte." Chris stated, "You sign this order, you bring it to the Alliance Director for Defense, and get his signature too, and we'll give birth to a new breed of Super Soldier... One never before seen, and never to be countered. One SIGMA II will be as strong as John Doe, S1." He stated, "Don't you think that right there, is proof enough to get it at least _looked at_, by the DoD?" He asked.

Whyte sighed, but nodded, "I'll talk to him, and get his opinion... If he thinks it valid, I'll sign the order." Whyte said, "But _only_ if he thinks it's valid." He added.

Chris nodded, "That's all I need." He said, before he stood up, "Now, I've got to head out, I'm heading to the Citadel to talk to some Salarian Egg-head." He said, with a nod, before he moved to the door, "Oh! Excuse me..." He said, sidestepping the woman who opened the door, and nearly collided with him.

Whyte looked up and saw his Yeoman entering the room. "What can I do for you, Wells?" He asked.

"Director, Director Serios wishes to speak to you... He says it's urgent." She said, placing a datapad on Whyte's desk.

* * *

"Alright, what do you have for me?" Asked the head-scientist, as his subordinates exited the decontamination and pressurization process, upon the Martian base.

For days now, ever since it had arrived, the Alliance Advancement Task Force had been pouring over the Turian Flagship. Alliance Intelligence had already informed them that 'Turian' was wrong, and that it was actually 'Prothean', and that only made the scientists and engineers salivate even more. The Ship had landed only a few dozen kilometers from the empty Prothean Ruins, which the AATF had found rather poetic, but had largely left up to coincidence, as they began their work.

"Well, sir, the very first thing we've figured out is that this thing is _ancient..."_ Said the scientist, as he removed his helmet, and depressurized his suit, "It's several deca-millennia old, about five..." He began, "It uses Element Zero as its mode of FTL, which means we've got it beat in that area, but it has the energy capacity to power an _immensely_ strong Energy Shield."

"How strong is it?" Asked the head scientist.

"At least three times stronger than the _Beautiful Annihilation's_ shields, sir." The scientist explained, "That's why it nullified the AMPB's, and took the entire Autumn Fleet's guns firing upon it, to break it." He added, "So we're already working on disassembling it, and finding out where and how it draws so much power, so we can do the same to our shields." He explained, "Now, its main gun is propelled by Eezo, much like Turian guns, but unlike Turian Cannons, it is designed like a Rail Gun, it pierces armor instead of flattening and expanding upon it... That's why it destroyed so many of our ships, while the Turian ships merely damaged and dented them."

"I see... So who's got the edge there? Us or them?" The Head Scientist asked.

"The maximum velocity for the Prothean Gun, we calculated, is six percent the speed of light, which is our maximum... So its a tie, and we're going to be giving this one to the Quarians, so they can work with it." The scientist explained, "Now, its armor is thick, like ours, but our Rail Guns - according to simulations - still hold enough raw kinetic energy to pierce them after a few shots, in other words, its armor is pretty much an ancient form of ours." He said.

"Have we found anything in their computers?" The Head Scientist asked.

"Their terminals hold _loads_ of Turian data, for starters, we've already got tech specialists and AI's running through that." The scientist reported, "But beneath the Turian info, we're detecting a lot of untouched, but heavily corrupted, Prothean Data. What we've got right now we're working on translating, but its taking _several_ AI's full, undivided attention to get at the information and get it uncorrupted." He explained.

"Have we got any Prothean info, yet?" The Head scientist inquired, "Anything that mentions why they haven't left us tech?"

"We've caught _references,_ to us and some race known as the 'Insuannon', both in the same report and sentences, but other than that, we haven't got anything... But we're still working on recovering information, there's a _lot_ of it, corrupted or otherwise." The scientist responded.

"Alright... Anything else?" He asked.

"Well, aside from the terabytes of Turian Data, we caught a few references to 'The Race Abandoned', but we can't figure out if they're referring to us, or a different race."

"Any guesses?"

The scientist shrugged, "Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other, they could mean us or_ anyone_ else."

A thought occurred to the Head Scientist, "What about what happened to them? Where they went?" He asked.

The scientist again shrugged, "Its either hidden in the corrupted data, or its not there." He stated.

* * *

Aboard the Alliance ship, _SSV Barge;_ a prison ship used to transport convicts, prisoners, and the like to the one (of two current) space-prisons, located in the middle of nowhere, space; the Captain of the Barge went over the 'cargo' list. He had several thousand Turians in his brig, and he was currently transporting them to the fringes of Citadel Space, so they could be brought home, and exchanged for the few hundred Humans that had been taken captive during the Palaven Invasion. The Captain quite liked that, as opposed to the _thousands_ of Turians they'd taken, only a few hundred Humans had been taken by the Turians. It gave him a further increase to the pride he felt for his species' military strength, whereas thousands of Turians had allowed themselves to be taken by the enemy, only a few hundred Humans were either too weak or too injured to be able to flee their alien captors.

As his ship soared through the Warp, at supra-FTL speeds, the Captain thought to himself.

_So that's the war._ He thought, _A week of extremely brutal fighting on Earth, and a few days of blitzkrieg-level shock-and-awe on Palaven, and the Human Race goes from 'puny' to a Military Power capable of doing extreme amounts of damage, at will._ He thought, with a smile.

The Captain had already heard of how the 'Citadel Council' was working on bringing Earth the raw resources it needed to rebuild New York, and the other cities that had been damaged during the war. He smiled again, the cities were all rebuilding beautifully, with great progress on all fronts, so they didn't _really_ need the extra supplies, but Jason Whyte had earned some respect in the Captain's book by tricking the Council into thinking that they _did_ need the resources. The Captain didn't know exactly how much Whyte had requested - or, to be more specific, _demanded -_ but he knew that there wouldn't be any shortage on resources for a while, _especially_ now that they had little to fear in the galaxy, and could explore - and, more importantly, _colonize - _without wondering what was around the celestial corner. If the Citadel Council was all they had to worry about, in terms of aliens and alien militaries, then the Humans and Quarians of the Alliance had _little_ to truly worry about, as they would no-doubt rapidly expand and colonize whatever they wanted, within their soon-to-expand borders.

_"Captain, exiting Warp."_ The ship's AI declared.

"Anyone with us?" He asked.

_"Scanning system... I detect three Tuning Gates - one Primary, two Secondary - and sixteen ships... Four are identified as Turian Cruiser-class Warships, the rest, transportation ships." _The AI explained, _"We are being hailed by one of their Cruisers."_ It added.

"On screen." The Captain ordered.

A few moments passed, before an image of one of the Turians appeared on the vid-screen, in front of the Captain. _"This is Turian Navy, Captain Salizan Shir... Am I speaking to the captain of the 'SSV Barge'?"_ He asked.

"Yes you are, Captain Shir." Said the Captain of the Barge, "We've got your captives ready and waiting for transport... Just give us our men and we'll allow you to dock and trade." He stated.

_"We will send five shuttles with ten prisoners each. Will you do the same, to ensure initial fair trade?"_ Shir requested.

"We will." Said the Captain of the Barge, before he made the orders.

* * *

The moment Whyte entered the office he'd been directed to, his ears were assaulted with several raised voices. Many of which, changed targets immediately after seeing Whyte's presence.

"Damn it, Whyte, you've jumped the gun on this one!" Shouted the Director for Extraterrestrial Affairs.

"We've got reports, escalating situations in Atlanta and Moscow!" The Director for Earthen Affairs reported, "_Riots,_ Jason!"

"Whyte, sit down, we've got much to talk about." Said the Alliance Director for Defense, Jonathan Serios, after the voices lowered to a dull roar. Whyte sat down, and after Serios calmed everyone down, he inquired as to what the situation on Earth was, because the datapad he'd been given was vague.

Serios was the first to respond, "Simply put, our people reacted in a way we didn't predict." He stated, "Many supported our decision to declare our sovereignty, others didn't care, for general want of protection, in any form..." He paused, "But the majority is... Simply put... Pissed off... That we rejected each and every offer the Citadel gave us to join their society." He stated, his deep voice conveying a tone of sorrow. "Forgive my bluntness... But they're demanding impeachment. You were the one to refuse the Council, so you're the one they're 'targeting'." He stated.

Whyte wasn't too terribly surprised, he knew _something_ would happen because of his and the Alliance's decisions, but he wasn't quite expecting this. "How bad is Earth?" He asked.

"Riots." The Director for Earthen Affairs responded, "Fires, mobs, angry citizens, you name it." He said, "The Earth Armies and Police Forces are doing great jobs at quelling them, but the people are still angry."

"Do we know _why?"_ Asked Whyte, "We _won_ the war, for them. We fought and bled for our species' independence, and we fought and bled so we could _rescue_ another species _entirely..._ Why on earth are they rioting?" He asked.

"We haven't had much time to conduct research... But we think that... They're _scared..._ Whyte."

"Scared?" Said Whyte.

"Yes... Scared of the fact that we decided to put ourselves, in essence, against a galaxy-spanning empire. Whereas we have four colonies - Sparta, Eden, Valhalla, Roof - the Council has _hundreds..._ Probably even _thousands._" Said the Director for Earthen Affairs, "They're scared that the Council may decide to seek retribution for our actions. We did, remember, trick them all, and show one of their leaders in the worst of lights." He said, "The people are scared of the fact that, despite the opportunity to _not_ be... We're alone, again, in the universe." He finished.

"But we do have the Quarians..." Whyte mentioned.

"Less than Seventeen million aliens, versus billions." Said Serios, "We may as well _not_ have them, if you wish to think of it in a numbers game." He said, before shaking his head, "Jason... Each moment we spend waiting..." He paused, Whyte could tell he didn't want to say what was slowly entering everyone's mind.

"Will result in what?" Asked Whyte.

"Worst case?... Civil War. On a planetary scale." Serios stated, bluntly. Whyte appreciated his bluntness, in this situation, he was notoriously a no-nonsense guy, and was almost always straight to the point, in whatever he was talking about. "Atlanta, Moscow, Beijing, London, dozens of cities, all over Earth, from New York class capital, to Porland class recreational, they're all rioting. The only places that don't seem to be as enraged, are New York and Tokyo." He added.

"The cities the Turians bombed." Whyte surmised. "You truly believe we could be on the precipice of Civil War?" He asked.

"I believe that if we don't act... We very well may be." Said Serios, to the nods and acknowledgements of everyone else in the room.

"Then what should we do?" Whyte asked.

"The citizens of the Alliance... The Human, citizens... At least... Believe that the Director for Affairs has far too much power, as it stands." Said the Director for Public Affairs, "So, according to the Parliament, changes need to be made... Both to make the people believe they have more power, and to appease them."

"What changes?" Asked Whyte.

"Simply put, the power structure needs to be redone. Veto, and executive authority, cannot lie entirely with the Director for Affairs." He responded, "The Parliament's idea was to change things so each director holds power over their respective branch." He began, "Serios would hold authority over the Armed Forces." He nodded to Serios, "Souran would hold authority over decisions for Earth." He nodded to the Director for Earthen Affairs, "I would hold authority over public affairs, and so on."

Whyte grinned, despite himself, he saw where this was going, "And I'll be turned... More or less... Into a President." He chuckled, "Important in name and rank, but not in authority."

"Well..."

"Don't try and sugar coat it." Said Whyte, "Because I know what's happening." He said, "We need to convince the people that they have as much say over what we do as we would. So to do that, we look at what they want... They want the Director for Affairs to have his executive authority removed, and more power placed in the people's hands. So we're distributing what we're taking from my office, amongst the other offices. We introduce a few bills that increase voting power, and the people are appeased, while little is really changed." He explained, "It's pretty smart, in the long run." He said, "Especially if the Director they wished to have impeached... Left." He stated, almost reading the mind of the Director for Defense.

"You knew?"

"That's what I was planning to do... Anyways." Whyte said, before he pulled out McGraw's data pad, "But I suggest we look over one more item of business, before we make the big changes." He said, sliding it to Serios.

* * *

"So have you heard, Liara?" Asked a Turian, as she, the Asari next to her, and the dozens of other archaeologists chatted away, as they made transit to their next destination, "Of the 'Humans'...?" She elaborated.

"I only started reading about the war yesterday night... I cannot believe an _entire_ first contact, and resultant war, occurred while we were digging..." Said the young Asari, who was rather excited, as the planet they were heading towards was rumored to have entire treasure troves of Prothean Technology, near its southern pole.

"I _know..._" The Turian said, "What do you think of them? I heard that they had moved _entire_ Relays, during the war!" The Turian declared.

"I think they are rather frightening..." The Asari archaeologist commented, "But interesting as well... Do you remember what Salorn obtained several digs ago?" She asked, "The Protheans made references to a 'successor' species... Perhaps they are the Humans?" She suggested.

"What makes you think so?" Asked the Turian, genuinely interested, as many of the Asari's points tended to either be wise beyond her years, or _laughably_ naïve.

"The Protheans were the ones who created and placed the Mass Relays, Nisara." Liara stated, "That means that they had a way to move them, and a way to portably travel in a manner similar to them. The Human travel technology is, apparently, not dissimilar to the Mass Relay's 'mass free' tunnel." She explained, "They are able to forge 'tunnels' wherever they need, and while it may not be as quick as Relay travel, they achieve much the same affect, while being much more efficient and quicker, than standard FTL travel." She explained, "Of course, for some, this could be enough proof that they could be the successor species, but they apparently wanted to give themselves more evidence, so they moved the Trebia System's relays, and all that connected to them. _Only_ a travel system, or a technological innovation, could do so in a way that would not waste too many resources to be useful." She explained.

"Interesting... But if they _were_ the successors, wouldn't they have the same technology as the Protheans? Wouldn't their travel technology use Eezo? Wouldn't their engines be instantaneous, like the relays?" Nisara asked.

"Possibly, but you must remember how large Human ships are, in comparison to the Relays." Liara explained, "The Relays have _enormous_ concentrations of Element Zero, and even bigger constructs to support said concentrations. Perhaps achieving the same effect, but on a ship-scale, is improbable, so the Protheans - who travelled in a way much like the Humans, but faster - wished to make their travel instantaneous, and thus, made the Relays." She continued, "The Humans then reverse-engineered the Advanced Prothean Travel technology - most probably because they had an _intact_ Prothean ship! - and used it to bypass the Relay system, entirely." She finished.

"But what of their soldiers? They do not use element zero, at all, in their combat!" Nisara pointed out, "They rely still upon their chemically propelled projectiles."

"I believe they did this because, after reading of the Prothean Weapons and shielding technologies, decided that Combat would be best put in their favor, if they decided to ignore the Eezo-based weaponry." She explained, "And their energy-shield based shielding systems, were made to give them another advantage in protection." She added.

"Fascinating... But if they _are_ truly the successors to the Protheans, do you believe that they will know what happened to them?" Nisara asked.

"That would be a question you would have to ask their foremost mind... Nisara." Liara said.

* * *

"Good evening, and welcome to the Citadel News Network, I am your host, Sila Shinal." Said the Asari anchor, as she smiled into the camera, "Our top story tonight continues to be the official cessation of hostilities, with the Quarian Migrant fleet, and their allies, the newly discovered 'Humans' of the 'Human Systems Alliance'." She explained, "Two days ago, the Human leader, one Jason Whyte, stepped into the Council Chambers, and gallantly declared that the Humans and Quarians would not only _refuse_ to join the Citadel Council, but would form their own governing body -"

"Damn straight we will!" Said a voice to the right of the suddenly mortified Asari.

"I... As I was about to say, I am joined today by several... A key leader in Salarian Science, an influential Asari Matriarch, and a Human scientist, who is said to be key in designing one of the weapons that helped defeat the Turian Hierarchy." She said, as the Camera zoomed out, and looked at each of the people in turn.

"Tirian Zhin, from the Salarian Union Science Group Sharian." She said, to the beige-skinned, green eyed Salarian.

"Matriarch Benezzia, of House T'Soni." She said, to the Asari woman, with such a miniscule amount of awe that could barely be detected, by those in the room.

"And... Christopher McGraw, from the Alliance Advancement Task Force." She said, to the smiling Human, with white skin, short brown hair, a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, and a cybernetic left arm.

"Now, mister McGraw... I was led to believe that you were one of the leading minds in your species?" Sila began.

"_Were?_" Said Chris, as he adjusted the tie that had been tied just a bit too tight for his liking, "Lady, aside from my Dad, I'm the smartest man alive." He stated, boldly.

"Truly?" Asked Zhin, "You do not have the appearance of a scholar, or scientist..." He commented, pointing out Chris' unclean glasses and unkempt hair.

"What, you don't like my hair? Or my glasses? _Both_ I can explain..." He said, "My glasses, I wore because I didn't want to deal with contacts so far away from home." He explained, "And my hair? I got that cut yesterday on the ship, when it's short, it stands." He stated, running his hand through his hair.

"But you do not clean your corrective lenses." Mentioned Zhin, in his characteristically quick Salarian Dialect.

"Genius is 99 percent perspiration, 1 percent inspiration." Stated McGraw, with a grin.

"What is perspiration?" Asked Benezzia.

"_Sweat."_ Stated McGraw, "When a Human gets overheated, he secretes excess water from his body, to cool himself down." He explained.

"That sounds quite unsanitary..." Benezzia commented.

"It is, it also gets pretty damn smelly, when it collects around the armpits." Said McGraw, raising his organic arm and patting the point where the arm meets the body.

"You are rather forward, you've used a curse word twice now..." The Salarian commented, "No scientist or scholar I have ever met is as loosely lipped as you." He stated.

"Well, I'm a unique factor." The Human said, "I'm a scientist, physicist, bio-medical engineer, regular engineer, expert on radiation, warp-physicist, and expert in antimatter physics and application." He explained, before he pulled out a small object from within his coat, "I've even got the very first anti-proton I ever made, right here." He said, to the surprise of the Salarian.

"You brought the most explosive element in our Galaxy, onto the most important station in the galaxy?" The Salarian said, "Have you been tested for mental instability?_"_ The Salarian asked, quite civilly.

"Yes." Said McGraw, with a smile.

"What reason would you possibly have to bring such a volatile thing onto the Citadel?" Benezzia demanded.

"It's _perfectly_ safe, lady." He said, "Or... Guy... Or... Um... Neuter... How the hell do I refer to you?" He asked, "Your species is mono-gendered, so what the hell do I call you? Shemale? He/She? Laman, Mady?" He asked, making a near 180 turn in conversation topics.

Benezzia was obviously confused, as to the nature of McGraw's sanity, "We are generally referred to as women, for our outward appearance..." She said, "But you avoid the question." She pointed out.

"Oh, right, like I said, it's perfectly safe." He said, pointing to a small metal slab on the bottom of the container, which was no bigger than his palm, "You see that? That's a miniature fusion reactor, keeping the proton suspended in the jar. And _that -"_ He pointed to what looked like a red-orange button, "Is a miniaturized warp drive. If the reactor fails, that thing activates to 'catch' the proton, and send it on a random travel vector, so it can detonate in safety." He explained.

"But how do you _keep_ something like that safe? A fusion reactor _and_ an anti-proton, carried on your person, at all times?" The Salarian asked, "If any of your precautions failed, you would die almost instantaneously." He pointed out.

McGraw shrugged, "At least it'll be quick." He said, "Besides, I spent all my life figuring out how to make anti-fuel safe, trust me, I know what I'm doing." He said.

"Speaking of fuel..." Said the Salarian, deciding to drop the topic, "How does your travel technology work?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Think of a piece of string..." Said the Human, as he replaced the container, and brought out a small piece of string, and placed it on the table in front of him, "And a cosmic knife..." He said, and suddenly his left hand flipped into its arm, and was replaced by a knife, made of a dark grey metal, "Now... Say for a moment that it'll take an hour to travel from end to end of the string." He began, ignoring the frightened cries that his knife had made, "Now... The Knife, cuts two holes in space time, one at each end of the string." He explained, miming the action, "Now, the two ends of the string are brought together, making the hour long trip, take two minutes." He stated.

"But how does that work?" Zhin asked.

"Simply put, we bomb the living... Er... Crap, out of real space/time at a sub atomic level. This opens the wormhole, that gives us entry into Warp-Space."

"But wouldn't have using Element Zero been easier to do?" Asked Benezzia.

"We don't have _access_ to Element Zero." Said Chris, "When Mankind started getting too damn cramped in its galactic neighborhood, they needed a way to travel fast, immediately." He explained, "So my Dad made the warp drive."

"You call yourselves 'Mankind'... Wouldn't the correct term be Human Kind?" Asked Benezzia, directing the conversation into her area of interest.

"Sure, if you want to be a pansy about it." Said Chris, bluntly. "You see, us guys? Us Human guys? We're a tough bunch, as the Turians no doubt learned a few days ago..." He chuckled, "But we're also pretty controlling. Most of the Earth's leaders are men, the Alliance Parliaments board of Directors are all male, and the Eden Planetary Governor, is a man." He explained, "It's been like this since the dawn of the historic age, about twenty two hundred years ago. So, with the generally male controlled population, some societal nuances tend to take a more male stance... Mankind, Man's Best Friend, etcetera." He said.

"Man's Best Friend?" Inquired Benezzia.

"The dog." Said Chris, "Pretty much, back when we were all stuck in pre-societal eras, and were all hunter-gatherers wearing nothing but loincloths and bras, wolves tended to be the most like us, from a thinking sense. Man hunted elk and other meat sources in packs, using stealth and cunning to do so, and so did wolves. After a while though, Man started capturing wolves instead of killing them, and slowly, we domesticated them, and ever since then Man and Dog have been evolving and living with each other. Dogs tend to be _fiercely_ loyal to their owners, and their owners can get _fiercely_ protective of their dogs, thus, Man's Best Friend." Said Chris.

"You mean you _domesticated_ your varren-creatues?" Benezzia asked, intrigued. "On a large enough scale, that you call them your 'best friends'...?"

"Er, are Varren alien dogs?" Asked Chris, "If they are, then yes. We did." He said, with a grin.

"Interesting..." Said Benezzia, as she sat back in thought.

"These dogs, they remind me very much of the mechs that attacked the Citadel several days ago... Were they designed around the dog?" Zhin asked.

"Yup. WOLF class, TITAN mechs." Said Chris.

"Titan?" Asked Benezzia.

"A creature from Human mythology... Basically, Titans are Humanoid creatures that are so big that they could hug a skyscraper." He explained, "The first TITAN class mechs, were made in that image, the name kind of stuck after a while."

"About your machines... You Humans use Artificial Intelligence Technologies, how did you manage to avoid an uprising?" The Salarian asked.

"Ah, you're referring to the fact that the Geth pushed out the Quarians, aren't you?" Asked Chris, "Pretty much, what happened was Nikola, our first AI, upon gaining sentience, asked if he was alive. My Dad, simply put, didn't know. But he told Nikola that, until he figured out, he would treat him as if he was. Not a minute later, every other AI to ever be made, would be loyal to Mankind." He explained.

"I've heard that your AI's take on various appearances, why is that?" Asked Zhin.

"AI's are made by taking the scans of a Human mind, and combining it with dozens of dozens of modern super computers. The AI's will develop personalities and their own little nuances as they evolve, and will take on appearances as they do so." Chris explained, "Nikola, at first, took on the appearance of Nikola Tesla, one of the most prominent Human Inventors in History." He continued, "But when he started getting on in the years, he changed it to a rather old appearance."

"Interesting... That shows a rather advanced technological understanding of your mind." The Salarian pointed out.

Chris nodded, "You've got _no_ idea." He said, before he knocked on his head, with his cyber hand.

"I see you have a cybernetic arm, do your people have no objections to biological, and cybernetic augmentation?" Benezzia asked.

"None at all." Said Chris, "We've got augmentations, from useful things, like to cure blindness, make us stronger, cure brittle bones, to outright stupid things, like increasing the size of our private areas." He said.

"But why would you resort to augmentations?" Benezzia asked, "That could, if it fails, or doesn't work as intended, ruin the body of the person being augmented..."

"Well, that's a risk most are either too desperate, or too stupid to take." Chris stated, "But some, mainly, our military, are far too brave and strong to allow themselves to be conquered by augmentation-rejection syndrome." He explained, "Just look at the SIGMA's."

* * *

John Doe S1 was waiting.

The Alliance and the Hierarchy had scheduled something, that those who were in their respective militaries, that _knew_, were staunchly opposed to, but accepted nonetheless. John had been transported - by the _Nimitz,_ no less - to Palaven, to have a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Turians were a very honor-bound bunch, he'd come to learn, and during his several battles with them on Earth, and his few with them on Palaven, he'd come to be regarded as something of a legend amongst their forces, and something of a _demon_ amongst their SIGMA Forces. The Hierarchy had, behind closed doors, bargained for the Alliance's silence about the existence of their 'Ghosts'. Well, more 'begged' for them to do so, as revealing their augmented Super Soldier corps would destroy any sliver of honor they had left. So in response, the Director for Extraterrestrial Affairs came up with a compromise; simply put, he wanted the Turian Ghost's equivalent to their John Doe S1 to meet up, with the Human John Doe S1. Their reasoning behind this, was that both were brutally efficient in what they did, and were almost _religiously_ dedicated to their species, so the two would have a polite, no-holds-barred conversation with each other, and any information they revealed would be taken and kept by their respective species' governments, without question.

John found this idea stupid, and had beforehand vowed not to reveal any of the Alliance's secrets, of which, he knew many, including one that involved the Citadel, that could get him executed if he revealed. John did, however, find it interesting, the chance to speak with his _alien_ counterpart, and that had more or less been the reason he'd accepted.

So here he was, in a building on Palaven; totally exposed, but safe as well. All he had to do was say a single phrase, should he be placed in danger, and just over a thousand OD3's would drop from the SSV _Nimitz_ onto Palaven, to reinforce him as more readied up and the Marines suited up. He highly doubted that he would be placed in such a situation, because he was more than sure the Turians wouldn't do _anything_ to furtherly piss off the Alliance, especially after what the Humans had done to their military.

He was torn from his thoughts, when the door to the room swished open, and in walked a Turian who, like him, was in his full combat uniform. His dark gray armor and helmet reflected no light, just like John's jet black armor, with dark blue stripes in the form or highlights. His helmet completely shielded and hid his face, just like John's, and his visor was frosted over, though unlike John's gas mask-esque helmet, with a golden visor, the Ghost's was merely frosted over, silver.

The two looked at each other for a moment, before the Ghost sat down on the other end of his table. Two more minutes passed, as they looked at each other in silence; the Turian broke the silent, motionless staredown by removing the rifle from his back, and placing it on the right side of the table.

John knew what he was doing, and he snatched up his pump-action shotgun, which had been leaning against the table, and he placed it upon the left side of the table. The Turian looked at the weapon for a moment, before he took his pistol, and placed it next to his rifle. John did the same thing, though, true to his training, he still had a single gun on him, the one he was placing upon his table being the 'show' side-arm, the one still strapped to his belt being his true sidearm, which no SIGMA would ever part with. The Turian looked at the pistol for a moment, before he took his combat knife, and placed it next to his pistol. John unsheathed his combat knife, from the small of his back, and placed it next to his gun. The Turian then took off a small belt, which had been draped around his chest, and placed it across all of his weapons, John recognized the multitude of grenades on the belt. John did the same with his tan tactical vest, and placed it atop his weapons, feeling only slightly naked without the familiar weight of a fully loaded and packed down tactical vest weighing down his shoulders.

Finally, the Turian undid the clasps on his helmet - John noticed that it was environmentally sealed, much like his, - and placed it on the middle of the table, facing John. John took a moment to take in the stone-like skin of the Turian, the green pigment it took, and the purple markings adorning it. John too, undid his helmet, and placed it on the table, facing the Ghost. John felt the cooled air greet his tan face, and his constantly-maintained buzz cut. He stared into the Turian's dark gray eyes, with his own piercing blue. For several more moments, there was silence between them, before the Turian finally broke it.

"You still have a weapon upon you, Human." He pointed out, John noticed the flange in the Turian's voice.

"A SIGMA never parts with his sidearm." John stated.

"As does a Ghost." Said the Ghost, subtly hinting that he too was still armed.

"We seem to have similar training... But very dissimilar augmentation procedures..." John said.

"We Ghosts are changed on a Genetic level, to become totally combat oriented. Even if we were asleep, our bodies could fight for hours without our notice." The Turian stated.

"The SIGMA's are given bio-mechanical augmentations... Not _un_like your procedures, but a lot more... Barbaric, I guess you could say, when compared with yours." John said.

"It fits... You 'SIGMAs' are monsters on the battlefield." The Turian said.

"As are you Ghosts." Said John, before he placed his elbow on the table, and extended his hand, "John Doe S1." He greeted.

The Turian grasped his hand, "Sal Sanaan." He stated, as they shook.

"Strong grip, Sanaan." John noted.

"Same, Doe S1." Sal retorted.

"I doubt you have, but have you ever arm wrestled before?" John asked, as he positioned his arm for the mentioned sport.

"I have not..." Said Sal, but he positioned his opposite arm to clasp John's given hand.

"It's a Human recreational sport." Said John, as he began pressing upon the Turian's arm, and though his face was blank, he was secretly grinning, as the Turian was resisting it, just like an arm wrestler would, "It's a test of strength... Where one man must get the other's hand to touch the table."

"Interesting..." Said Sal, as he began putting strength into his counter-press, John's response came in the form of more strength, and soon the two were putting their all into the wrestling 'match', and sooner still, they were literally at a standstill, from the point at which they'd started; neither gave the indication that they were putting so much effort into it.

"You are quite strong, Sal." Said John, "Only person who made me go at it _this_ seriously, was Jane Doe S1." He said.

"As are you..." Said Sal, "The person you speak of shares your name... Is she your mate?" Sal asked; the two recognized what the other was doing, they were trying to distract the other from their struggle, with conversation, and the two both were gaining more and more respect for the other as they did so.

"No... The first SIGMA of each gender had their entire names stripped. The male would be anonymous, should he die, a John Doe. Same with the female, a Jane Doe." He said, as he ever so slightly gained ground upon the Turian.

The Turian's eye twitched, as it put more effort into the press, and brought John back to the starting point, "You SIGMAs accept women into your ranks?" He asked.

"Yes." Said John, "The way we see it, if a woman is strong enough, she should at least have the opportunity to devote the seven years." He said, as Sal began to gain ground on him.

"Seven years... Is nothing compared to what the Ghosts go through." Said the Ghost, as he was met with more resistance from the SIGMA, who brought him back to the standstill at the beginning. "What ever happened to her?" He asked.

"Died of augmentation rejection syndrome. Her immune system literally fought every cell in her body, until she burned the life out of her." Said the Human, as he began to gain ground over the Turian.

The effort was beginning to show on both of their faces, the Turian's mandibles were shut tight against its face, and the veins in John's neck were beginning to become more pronounced, and a scowl was beginning to form on his face.

"That is why we change ourselves on a genetic level..." Groaned Sal, as he pushed back against John, and once again, brought them to a standstill at the beginning. "Machines... Pollute... The body." He stated, gaining ground on John, the Human's hand was getting dangerously close to the table.

"It's a risk..." Said John, as he began pushing back to the beginning, "We're willing..." He began gaining _much_ ground on Sal, "To take!" He stated, before he successfully tapped the back of Sal's talons to the table.

Almost immediately, the two let go of each other, and brought their arms back to their respective sides of the table. John rolled his shoulder around, stretching and relieving the sore muscles, while Sal used his right talons to press at pressure points in _his_ joints, to relieve the pressure.

"You are remarkably strong, in mind and in body... John." Said Sal, through deep breaths, as he tried to regain control of his heartbeat.

"As are you... Sal." Said John, as he tried to lower his heart rate.

"I was the first of my kind, I'll have you know." Said Sal.

"As was I." Said John.

"I was put through such training, that was designed to break me in body and mind." Began Sal.

"But I endured, through love and through pride of my species." Continued John.

"And when I was placed upon the operating table..." Sal continued.

"I couldn't have been more proud of myself, or content with my decisions in life." John finished for him.

"Because I knew..."

"That even if I died, I laid the foundations for a new breed of soldiers, that would eternally and loyally serve my species in battle."

"Endlessly changing the tide of battle in our favor."

"And when I awoke, having survived my augmentations..."

"The only thing running through my mind..." Said the Turian.

"Was the joy, at the prospect of being able to serve my species as a bio-augmented Super Soldier, until death my death." Said the Human.

"And should I die in battle..." The Turian began.

"I know I would die content, as I would be going to hell with the no-doubt thousands of enemies it would take to kill me." The Human finished.

The two stared at each other in silence, before they both nodded, and began re-donning their equipment.

* * *

"Father... We found more corpses." Said the son of Suri Alian, the de facto leader in the reconstruction efforts for Menan, just as he former stood up to stretch his aching spinal column.

"Where?" Asked Suri, as he looked to the sky, the silver-tinted sky that was unique to Palaven.

The sky was slightly blotted out, the dozens of orbital bombardments, done by the Humans, had ejected tons, and tons of ash, dust, and debris into the air. The analysts had said that more Turians had died, during the bombardments, than had died during the combat. Suri shook his head at the nonsense, the Humans called _them_ monsters, because the foolish Admiral Tor Valast had made the mistake of firing at a ship, while facing the planet. He missed, and killed millions as a result, and suddenly the entire Turian race was held in contempt, never to mention the fact that they did the _same thing,_ dozens of times. To begin the Palaven invasion, they dropped the kinetic warheads. To destroy any military base, they dropped kinetic warheads. If ever they had the inkling that they were about to lose the battle, they would drop kinetic warheads, _and_ fire at the planet, with their ships' main cannons; and they had the gall to call the _Turians_ monsters!

"The city's main living quarters, sir." Said Suri's son, as he guided his father to the ruins. Menan _had_ been a beautiful city, at one point, but then the Humans came, and now half of it had fallen to the ground, and the other half was fall_ing._ It wouldn't have been too terribly bad, if the Humans hadn't demanded that the Hierarchy burn its resources so they could fix their precious Earth. "There... There was a youngling, there. I believe she was evacuating with her mother and father." He explained.

"Were they killed by the falling building, or the initial shockwaves?" Suri asked, as they stepped over some recently moved rubble.

"I... I think it was a combination of biotic burns, and the burning debris."

"Biotic burns? Was one of them a Cabal?" Asked Suri.

"I believe so... It's hard to tell which one was, but when the barrier shattered, the dust and debris carried the biotics and element zero with them... Burned them all alive." The son explained.

"I didn't know that was possible..." Said Suri, as they came across the corpses, sure enough, they all were burned to cinders, their broken bodies looked like they'd died simply trying to shield the youngling, but judging by the way some sides of their bodies seemed _flat_ in addition to burned, they must have been slammed into by some larger piece of debris, before they were buried by the building's collapse.

"Anything is possible with biotics, sir." Said Suri's son, "Some Asari are able to create small _beams_ with their biotics, crushing everything in their path." He mentioned.

"Right..." Said Suri, with a sigh, "See if you can identify them, chronicle the names, and then prepare the bags." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Said his son, "Wait..." He placed his hand on his communicator, "Are you sure?" He asked the speaker, "They _are_?" He paused, "Did they provide a reason?" Another pause, "Alright... We'll take whatever we can get, right now, send them landing coordinates." He ordered, before he looked to Suri, "Father... The other Council species, they're here." He said.

"Here to gloat about our loss?" He asked, not quite believing it.

"No sir... They're here to help rebuild. I don't have all the information, but the Asari have brought resources, the Salarians mechs and powered workers... They want to help, sir." He said.

Suri nodded, "Let us go to meet them." He said, nodding in the direction of the designated landing zone, for supply convoys and the like.

* * *

_A/N: _

Alright folks, the countdown's begun!

We've only got a few more chapters before The _First_ War's conclusion.

I'll have a 'Thank You' A/N at the conclusion of the last chapter, FYI, but I should mention it here, I've got a 'Shepard's Gender' Poll, currently open on my profile. It's been open for several weeks now, but it will be closing five days from now, that's sunday the 14th of July.  
That day, around 1:30 EST, I'll close the poll and the Gender for Shepard will be locked in.  
So cast your votes now, while you still can! It's still close enough, that a few votes either way can tip the balance!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

* * *

_December 13th 2201_

* * *

Christopher McGraw sat down with a not-so-noisy 'thump', and a loud, breathy exhale. He made sure he could see the Restaurant's entrance - it was a pet peeve of his, ever since he'd gotten in a bar fight with Jack, back in college - and he took a quick look around him. The restaurant had a distinct 'cafe' appearance, and unlike most of the restaurants he'd passed, it had a door. But a _lot_ like the other doors he'd seen on the Citadel, it was automatic, which confirmed for McGraw exactly _why_ the Citadel had gone into such disarray after the EMP Strike, during the war: Movement would be so slow that it'd just _stop_ after a while. The café was pretty much _void_ of people, save for two or three tables with people sitting at them, but he was sure that would change soon, he was sitting right in front of a window, after all.

McGraw shook his head, and removed his messenger's bag from his neck. He put the bag on the ground - leaning up against his chair - and fished out two very important items: His personal, tablet-sized terminal, and his Virtual Reality Ocular Assistants. His VROAs weren't too terribly altered by his own hands, and were just a few steps above 'standard', their original design was to act as a portable Heads Up Display, with a connection to the Alliance Satellite network, so they could display every day things, such as weather, the time - Earth Standard - and was capable of running up to twelve applications at a time. His modifications to the device 'corrected' the HUD, added in personal applications, and made it much more capable of being used in conjunction with his tablet. The Tablet was an entirely different story, in terms of modifications; where, in the factory model, a Serran Industries Personal Tablet Computer [Known as a 'SIP-TaC', for short] had two different display modes, one where it used its touch-screen as its primary display, and one where it used holograms and such, but the few-inch Holographic Range wasn't at all to McGraw's liking, so he'd changed it to work with the VROAs.

He put on the VROAs, and turned on the Tablet, before he synched the two up to each other. A moment passed, as the VROAs - which had an appearance of a simple set of jet black, frosted, wrap-around sunglasses - automatically tinted so they could set up the environment of Chris' choice. The Tablet booted up, and then 'McGraw's Magic' happened.

The environment darkened considerably, before the VROA's highlighted the tablet, brightening it considerably, turning it into a veritable Sun, around which, text and holograms were 'orbiting'. At first, the text and holograms were simple, 'starting up' messages and status bars, but after a few seconds passed, the applications, programs, and everything the tablet's augmented storage module had stored upon it all began booting up, turning the empty 'Stellar Body', into a loosely packed 'Solar System', with the Tablet acting as the system's 'Star', and all the holograms, programs, applications and such, acting as the system's 'planets'.

_"Good evening, Mr. McGraw..."_ Said Gladys, McGraw's AI, as she 'awakened' from her AI disk - stored in McGraw's bag - and automatically transferred herself into the Tablet, _"I notice we do not have an Alliance Satellite connection... Where did you say we were?"_ She asked, causing McGraw to grin, they both knew that she already had the answer, but she was just making small talk, a trait she'd gotten from her several years spent with her maker.

"We're on the hub of galactic trade and commerce, Gladys." Said Chris, as he placed two non-descript black gloves on either hand, and - now holding the power to interact with his 'Solar System' reached out and pulled in a hologram that was orbiting on the far side of the 'star'. "The home of the Citadel Council... We're on the ancient alien station that was built by the ever-elusive Protheans... So, step one: Blow it the _fuck up."_ He chuckled, "Go ahead and open up the connection to the _Preston,_ would you?"

_"One moment."_ The hologram he'd grabbed suddenly expanded, and showed her progress as she accessed the nearby Alliance ship.

It then took him five minutes to hack into the _SSV Bill S. Preston_, an Alliance Destroyer, and gain access to the Alliance Satellite network, so he could use his tablet and speak to Jack Harper. Chris quite enjoyed how Alliance Naval Vessels had access to the Alliance Satellite Network, and thus, the internet, even so many hundreds of lightyears from the nearest satellite.

"Ugh... Jack, you've got no _damn_ idea!" Said Christopher McGraw, after he finished setting himself up at the nice, quiet restaurant on the Citadel.

"I swear, man, if they didn't _tell_ me those two were professional smart guys... and professional smart neuters... I would've confused their College Education for a Kindergarten Diploma." Now, to everyone else, he was simply enjoying the fact that he was the first Human on the Citadel to be eating alien food - on the Alliance's dime, no less - but to him, he was staring his best friend right in the face, conversing with him and only suffering a twelve second time lag.

"You may be underestimating the aliens' intelligence, Christopher." Said Harper, by virtue of technicality, twelve seconds ago.

"No... I'm not." Said Chris, before he paused to thank the Asari waitress, who gave him his food, "You didn't talk to those two, Jackie." Said Chris, as he took a moment to notice how odd the specifically ordered Asari food tasted. It was sweet but sour at the same time, it was juicy but bone dry as well, and it was chewy, but not repulsively so. As a matter of fact, McGraw had noted, it looked distinctly amphibian in appearance, so he'd at one point entertained the thought that he was actually _eating an Asari,_ though he knew that wasn't true. "The Lizard guy would've found an equal intellectual challenge in a middle schooler. I brought up the heat-death of the universe to the guy, and he was all like, 'Duuuuuuuh... Whuuut?'..." He said, drawing a few odd looks, for his choice of tone; though he didn't notice, most everyone was staring at him anyways, he _was_ an alien, simply casually eating in an Asari restaurant; who _wouldn't_ stare? "And when I asked that blue chick/dude what her species' plans were to outlive their suns, and the deaths of all the Milky Way's stars, she just stared at me, as if I'd jammed a pencil in my eye." He groaned.

"Well, you must realize that not _all_ species have such a movement of over-concerned, and under-informed individuals... the 'People for the Continued Existence of the Human Race'..." Said Harper, with a smile.

"Well... Fine... You've got me there... But it still only took a half decade of people pissing and moaning for the Alliance to write up a 'Dead Star' survival bill." Chris muttered, "Won't ever need it in a million lifetimes... But it shut those hicks up." He chuckled.

"True." Said Harper, "But do you truly think you should be as... Loosely lipped as you are?" He asked, "Given your location?"

"Oh, trust me, I don't have to worry." Said Chris, "I had to program my earpiece to broadcast Thessian for the waitress." He explained, "No one here understands a _word_ I'm saying... I could call this Crow-Girl right next to me -" He looked to his right, and looked over the upper rim of his VROA's, he saw a Turian woman staring back. She was definitely different from the males of her species, lacking the spiky protrusions that were the species' excuse for hair, as well as being several inches shorter than her mate - who had found a rather angry excuse to go to the little Alien's room, when Chris had sat down close to them - and having a generally feminine appearance. Chris had noted, rather amusingly, that unlike many other females he'd seen - 'Batarian', Salarian, Asari, Quarian and even a 'Volus' woman, who'd stopped him and asked if he actually was Human - that the Turian woman didn't have any mammary glands. It wasn't like Chris had _looked,_ mind you, he just noticed. " - A steel-plated bitch, with a stick up her ass to match, and she wouldn't be any the wiser." He said, with a smile and a wave; the Turian woman - obviously confused - returned the gesture, and Chris returned to his meal.

"You do not fear having your words recorded, and looked over by a team of translators?" He asked.

"And have them hear what, half a conversation, and the ramblings of a self described dumbass?" Chris retorted, "No. I'm pretty sure after the first four minutes they'd give up." He chuckled, before he heard tell-tale 'swish', which let him know that the door to the café had opened.

"I see... So, tell me, did you accomplish your goal?" Harper asked.

"Oh yeah, the Foundations were set, we just need the Diggers to get their lazy asses off the Red One and start working." Chris responded.

"I'll be sure to contact them." Said Harper, "I should probably mention -"

"This is an interesting device..." Suddenly came a familiar voice, from beyond McGraw's earpiece, before his own personal world was almost literally ripped from him.

Due to the fact that his virtual environment was, decidedly, modeled to look like a Solar System, the sudden shifting of the 'Sun's' position changed Harper's position as well, and threw Chris out of his own illusion, stunning him temporarily.

"Whoa, don't touch that!" He declared, ripping off the VROA's and grabbing the tablet, "Ah, damn it... I'll call you back, Jackie." Said Chris, before he made a swipe with his cybernetic hand, ending the vid-call. He rubbed his eyes, as they adjusted again to the Citadel's brightness, "What the hell, lady? What would _possess_ you to just grab a man's stuff, without permission?" He asked, shaking his head once and looking up to see the offender.

"I didn't mean to offend, Mister McGraw..." Said the woman in a calm voice; after McGraw blinked his sight back in order, and put on his regular glasses, he finally recognized her.

"Oh, it's you!" Said McGraw, rising to shake the hand of Matriarch Benezia, "Fancy meeting you here." He chuckled.

"Quite." The Asari accepted the handshake, despite not _quite_ knowing what McGraw was doing. "May I sit here? Everywhere else is full... It seems you've drawn a crowd." She said, indicating the fact that the restaurant was, indeed, full, a drastic change from the two or three customers that had been here when McGraw had arrived.

"Will you touch my stuff?" Asked a chuckling McGraw, as he shoved the tablet and VROA's in his sling-bag, "You can sit... But your body guards'll have to stay outside -." He grinned, nodding his head to the five Asari Commandoes that were stationed outside the café, "Nor is there room for the cloaked one, standing behind me." He grinned wider, before he indicated the seat opposite him.

Benezia didn't react to the fact that McGraw knew that one of her nine bodyguards were cloaked - in all honesty, he didn't, he was bluffing and Benezia didn't react - and sat down. A few moments passed, and an Asari waitress - who was only barely holding back nervous shivers, obviously intimidated by the fact that she was serving a Human 'Ambassador', an Asari Matriarch, _and_ have to deal with her eight - and a cloaked - bodyguards. "M - may I take your order, Matriarch?" She asked, in a quivering voice.

"I'll have a small Tarola'saa, thank you." Pleasantly said Benezia, with a nod.

"Can I get a _big_ jug of water?" Asked Chris, "I don't know what you put in this food, but I'm finding myself parched and quenched at the same time."

"If - if there's something wrong, we will give you a new Sarailia immediately, sir McGraw!" She said, quickly.

"Oh, no, it's delicious... I was making a joke." Chuckled McGraw, with a toothy grin.

"Oh... Okay..." Said the waitress, before she left with a bow.

"You ordered _Sarailia?"_ Asked Benezia, "Are you aware that that is a notoriously _siac_ inducing meal?" She asked.

" 'Siac'...?" Asked an interested Chris.

"Inducive of Biotics." Said Benezia, "The animal Sarailia is made from is known to have a slightly abnormal amount of Element Zero in its blood." She explained.

"Will I die?" Chris asked, suddenly serious.

"No... Although you may feel slightly different for an amount of time dependent immune system, due to the fact that your physiology is unaccustomed to Element Zero" Was the Matriarch's calm response.

"Then I don't quite care. Food is food, no matter what shiat it gives me." Said the Human, "So what're you doing here? Other than touching unaware Humans' things, and interrupting conversations?" He asked, making a mental note to tell Harper what had happened here.

"This is a frequent of mine, when I'm on the Citadel... The Tarola'saa they serve is quite delectable." The Asari said.

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Chris asked, "There's a _crowd_ forming outside... You didn't decide to come in after you heard one say 'There's a Human eating in there!'...?"

Benezia tilted her head, "You are very mistrusting mister McGraw... What would make you think that?" She asked gently.

"I'm only mistrusting when people are lying to me; besides, you told me." McGraw grinned.

"I did not." Benezia pointed out.

"You _just_ did." He smiled wider.

They spent a few moments in silence, making idle conversation as McGraw enjoyed his food, and Benezia waited for hers. When her food came, she thanked the waitress with a smile and a nod, before she gave her what McGraw noticed had a similar appearance to a credit card.

"Mother _fucker!"_ Called McGraw, startling the Matriarch, "Credit cards are _everywhere!_ Even _aliens_ use 'em!" He laughed.

"I'm sorry, I do not understand..." Benezia said, confusedly.

"That's what passes for currency, here." Chris said, through a quick fit of chuckles, "What is it?"

"A credit chit." Said Benezia, "Have you already paid for your food?" She asked; when McGraw nodded, she continued, "Interesting... Previous times, setting up currency exchanges have taken _much_ longer... And yet you Humans -"

"And Quarians." Interrupted a grinning Human.

"- And Quarians." The Asari corrected, "Have done so in a remarkably quick fashion... It is quite interesting, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, it's kind of required, given our standing. The Alliance already _had_ to set up a currency exchange program getting set up, so they can begin laying the foundations for trade." Said Chris, tapping his sling-bag with his foot, "I've got one of those chits myself. Loaded with the equivalent to a thousand Alliance Dollars." He said.

"What is the exchange rate, if I may ask?" She asked, cutting into her blue steak-appearing meal.

"I dunno." Shrugged McGraw.

Benezzia stared at McGraw for a moment, interestedly, "As you are one of the most intelligent -"

Chris cut her off "_The_ most".

"_The _most -" Benezia corrected herself, "Intelligent individual of your species, I do have a question that intrigued me since I first met your species... Why do you think our respective species' gestures and outer physiology are so similar?" Asked an obviously intrigued Benezzia.

"What do you mean?" Asked Chris.

Benezia shrugged, then nodded, and then smiled, Chris did too after a moment's deliberation. "Our species, despite _thousands_ of light years, and _millions_ of star systems separating us, are so closely similar it's almost frightening." She said.

"It suggests a _lot..._ Though." Said Chris.

"Like?" Asked an intrigued Matriarch.

"Common ancestry, for one." Said Chris, "Or perhaps outside influence. Maybe those ever-elusive 'Protheans' did some digging on the Genetic level, and made our two species into sibling societies." He elaborated, "Whatever it is, we've got something in common in more ways than one." He said, "And... Not just on a physical level." He stated.

"Elaborate, please..." Benezia requested, after she took a bite from her Tarola'saa.

"Well, first, you've got to look at physical similarities. I'm talking aesthetic stuff." Said Chris, pointing to his eyes, "White Sclera, colored Iris, black Pupil." He said, before pointing to the Asari's eyes, "White Sclera, colored Iris, black Pupil." He repeated, "Then you look at bone structure and skin tone. Obviously, there's some pretty big differences on the latter's end, but the bone structure is what gives the sack of skin its appearance." He explained, "And Human and Asari bone structure seem so similar, that we look as if we're just different colors of the same species. But the interesting part is that Humans have males, and Asari _only_ have females." He said, "But... At one point you must have had _something_ resembling a male, otherwise you wouldn't have your... Er... _Specific_ lady parts." He said.

"You mean our birth canals?" Benezia asked, "That is, actually, their only purpose. That and for waste secretion..." She said, slightly surprising McGraw with her boldness, "Do your 'women' use their canals for something else?" She asked, though she already anticipated the answer.

"Yeah, it's called _sex."_ Chris said, bluntly, "Sex, intercourse, pleasure, take your pick. A man's penis needs to enter a woman's vagina in order to successfully transport sperm, so a woman's eggs can cultivate it." He explained, "Obviously they're used for pleasure as well." He added, as an afterthought.

"Well, if you'll forgive my bluntness, Asari birth canals, originally, weren't used for pleasurable activities. We achieve... What is the Human term?"

"Orgasm."

"We achieve 'Orgasm' though melding with our partner." She explained.

"Sounds... Interesting..." Muttered a confused Chris, "What's a 'meld'?" He asked.

"It is one of the reasons why Humans and Asari are two distinct species. We meld to others' minds in order to reproduce, find pleasure, share memories, and information... Among other things." She explained.

"So you can probe peoples' minds?" Asked Chris, "That sounds pretty dangerous..." He stated.

"It is, if the meld isn't consensual." Said Benezia, "Forced Meldings could kill the partner, but deaths from melds are rare." She added, still calmly.

"Ok." Said Chris, "So, getting back to the first subject, there's got to be a reason we're so aesthetically similar. And, also, why we've got such a similar organ and circulatory systems." He added.

"You know of the Asari Circulatory System?" Benezia asked, amused at the Human's implied knowledge, there was no way he knew this much.

"Yeah." Said Chris, "I became an unofficial doctor of Asari genetics yesterday night." He stated.

Benezia smirked, "Truly?" She asked, "What would have transpired for you to have seen _that_ to be relevant?" She asked.

"Well, I found myself in the position of _not knowing something."_ Said Chris, "And I don't like not knowing things." He added, with a serious face, and an even more serious tone, "So when I was told I'd be speaking to an Asari and a Salarian, I did an all-nighter to learn everything I could before I talked to you." He finished, with not a hint of pride in his voice.

"Anything interesting that you found while researching my species and the Salarians, comparing them to yours?" Benezia gently asked.

"Er... Yeah, you two are _boring!"_ Chris groaned, "At least the Turians _admit_ they blow shit up on a daily basis." He said, before shaking his head, "Think of it like this: Someone has a bloody nose." He stated, "The Salarians will sit there for hours, as the guy bleeds, trying to come up with a scientific explanation as to why it's bleeding, and a medical way to stop it." He began, making gestures with his hands as was required, "The Asari refuse to admit the nose is bleeding in the first place, because blood on the outside is bad, and scary, and might hurt the children's minds." He said, in a slow, methodical, and slightly simple way, "The Turians will stab you in the foot, so you have something else to worry about... Hell, the Quarians would just grab a bucket and collect the blood. That's the difference between you all and Humans!" He said, with a wide, one-sided grin, "The Humans would just wipe the blood off on the back of their sleeve." He did the gesture, "And keep talking."

Benezia stared at the Human for a moment, _"That_ is what you learned?" She questioned, skeptically.

"No, that's what I learned, from everything I learned." The Human responded, a slight bit annoyed at Benezia's failed joke, "If you want to think of it in militaries, by 'Boring' statement still stands. The Salarians will try to outthink their enemies, while their troops get slaughtered. The Asari will try to ignore the war entirely, and beg, plead, piss, and moan for peace, while their troops get slaughtered. The Quarians will get a cut on their suit and call a sick day. But the Turians and Humans have a pair big enough to pick up their irons and start shootin' shit." The Human explained, only really half hoping that his comparisons made sense.

"You learned enough to make those comparisons?" Benezia said, a slight hint of pride in her voice, pride in the Human, that is, "I don't think I've met Salarians with such dedication to knowledge..." She added, a hint of skepticism mucking up her calm tone.

Chris chuckled, "Never fuck with a Human who's got a hard-on for information, you'll always get schooled." He said.

"I beg your pardon?" Benezia asked.

"Nothing." Said Chris, waving the subject away, and introducing an old one, "So to get things back on track, in order to look for common ancestors, or, in our case, common evolutionary paths, one could begin by looking at the planet the species was born upon." He explained, "The Humans, for example, were born on Earth. A jack of all trades planet, tough where it needs to be, soft where it can be, and weathered everywhere else." He said, "Asari come from Thessia, which has an enormous Element Zero saturation, which gives you your natural biotics and your unique bio-chemistry." He said, "But aside from that, the biosphere and general specifics of the two planets are much the same, or at the very least, quite similar. So we evolved on sister planets, but came out entirely differently. The question you'll find on the tip of _every_ Human scientist's tongue, will be 'Why'?" He said, "_Why_ did Humans and Asari turn out so similarly, yet so differently? _Why_ didn't we turn out the same? _Why_ didn't we turn out completely, utterly differently? _Why_ this, _Why_ that? One thing you'll have to come to realize is that with Humans, getting the answer to 'Why', is never enough." He stated, "We'll only ask _why_ the answer to the question, is. And then we'll question the answer, and so on, and so forth. We are infinitely curious, _nothing_ is ever good enough. Impossible is possible in our eyes, and mystery can is a _goal,_ not an obstacle." He finished.

"So, to say that Humans are inquisitive would be an understatement?" Benezia summarized.

"You've _no_ idea." Said Chris, "And that's an understatement of an understatement. For us, for Humans, there is _no such thing_ as impossible." He stated, "For instance… Three hundred years ago, 1901, AD, everybody _knew_, it was impossible to fly in the air, like the birds." He said, "Two hundred years ago, everybody _knew_ that it would be impossible to hit Faster Than Light travel… And just seven months ago, everybody _knew_ that it was impossible for their society to have a military that could challenge a _galactic empire."_ Said Chris, "Just wait until you hear the _next_ thing we'll think is impossible, and I guarantee you we'll prove _that_ wrong too, in a decade." He stated.

"You mean to tell me that your species is, almost literally, always testing what it believes feasible?" Benezia asked.

Chris nodded, "I myself am working on something that was considered infeasible just a century ago."

"What are you working on?"

"Synthetic _planets."_ Stated Chris, "Earth is nice, Eden is good… But I just want my own little pair of Dyson Spheres. One to hold the oxygen and provide sunlight, and one to act as a planet. I just want to go to those spheres, and live out the rest of my life with my machines. Study, invent, learn, test the boundaries of the universe…" He chuckled.

"A _synthetic_ planet?" Benezia repeated, "That is -"

"Impossible?" Chris grinned, silencing the Matriarch. "So it would be, a century ago." Said the Human, "But we've already got the rings, providing us with limitless energy. Who's to say that we can't make a sphere?" He asked.

"Why would you abandon your homeworld, or a garden world, to take up homes in a synthetic one?" The Asari asked simply.

"Firstly, because the allure of the homeworld will wane within a decade, _tops."_ Said Chris, "The reason there's _only_ six billion people on Eden, and there's about ten billion still on Earth, is because we had no clue what was out there, so the excuse for so many not leaving was that Earth was 'The Holy Land'… 'Mother Earth, and Father Sun, why should we leave?'…?" He asked, "Because they were too scared to. They don't know, they might have been the ones to be attacked by aliens, but now that they know what's out there, and, more importantly, they know that _we've_ got the bigger stick, the Earth will become less 'Holy Land' and more 'Hallowed Ground'. I guarantee you, before next year is out, Earth will have lost two billion people. Not to death, or war, but to _travel… Colonization, expansion!"_ He said.

"What is Earth like, if I may ask?" Benezia asked.

"It's _hell_ to those who cannot tame it, and _paradise_ to those who can." Chris stated.

"What do you mean by that?"

"There are places on Earth that are so beautiful, they will bring tears to your eyes. Those places are ones Man either cannot, or has not, tamed. Those places are what I call 'Hell on Earth'…" He began, "Because if you got lost in… Say… The icy tundras of middle-of-nowhere Russia, you'll freeze to death, if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, frostbite will claim your limbs and you'll rot to death, while you're still living." He said, "But if you got lost in, say, middle of nowhere desert, Nevada, you'd boil alive. Untamed wilderness… But then you've got our concrete jungles, our cities. Those places are as beautiful as the man who tamed them, and are paradise for those who can learn to subsist. New York, before the Turians bombed it, was the single richest city in all of Alliance space." He said.

"Where do you consider yourself?" Benezia asked.

"Sorry?"

"Is Earth Hell, for you, or is it paradise?"

Chris chuckled, "For me? Everything's Hell." He stated, his eyes momentarily glossing over as he got lost in memories.

"Could you show me?" Benezia asked, after a few moments of respectful silence.

Chris snapped out of it, "What? Er, lady, man… Person thing, I don't know what you've heard, but immigration isn't kicking in until we get Roof all settled and rebuilt." He stated.

"No…" Benezia wore a light smile, and shook her head, "I mean _show_ me… You do remember what I told you of the Asari's ability to meld?" She asked.

Chris closed his eyes and leaned his head back, "That's when the… Asari attunes her nervous system to a partner's… Right?" He asked, "Wait…" He looked back at the Matriarch, "Why the hell are you trying to get into my pants? I'm not giving this universe any Chris Juniors, lady, no matter how much that pisses off my Dad." He stated.

Benezia raised an eyeridge in surprise, her voice was still in control, but was filled with hints as to confusion, "I'm… Sorry? What do you mean, get in your pants?"

"It's prude slang for sex." Chris stated, "You people bond to mate and reproduce, so why the hell are you trying to convince me to let you mind fuck me?" He asked.

Benezia rubbed the bridge of her nose, ignoring the confused looks of the patrons around them, "No… I'm not trying to _mate, _or even _bond_ with you… I did that once, and I have not done so since." She stated, "No, Asari can meld with people as a means to do many things. As a means to say goodbye, to share feelings, and, yes, to reproduce, but also to share _memories."_ She explained, her calm tone betraying her inward curiosity at the expression the Human used; she found herself wondering if other Humans had such phrases.

"Oh, so you just want to probe my mind." Chris said, "What's to stop you from stealing information?" He asked, "Because I've got a cheat code to a video game, that _no one else_ knows, and I'm _not_ giving it up." He chuckled.

"I... Promise you, mister McGraw... I'd only look at your memories of Earth." Said the Asari, in a soothing voice.

"That _is_ a memory of Earth! I was on Earth when I figured it out!" He laughed, before waving it off, "I kid, I kid." He said, "How do I _know_ you won't be taking a peek at any of my more private memories?" He asked.

"If you do not _want_ me to see a memory, I cannot." Benezia responded, "In a 'normal' meld, such as this, things can be hidden."

"Alright... But what do I get out of the deal?" Chris asked, leaning back into his chair, finished with his food.

Benezia tilted her head, "What do you request?" She asked.

Chris shrugged, and suddenly became interested in the window to his right, seeing the Presidium just outside, "I dunno... A favor from an Asari Matriarch would be good." He said, seriously.

Benezia's face went from calm to serious, "What would this favor entail?" She asked.

Chris shrugged, still looking out to the Citadel, "Whatever I happen to need help with at the time, I suppose." He said, the gears already turning in his head, at the possibilities coming out of this conversation.

"Could I refuse, if it were too much?" She asked.

"Well, then it wouldn't be a favor, now would it?" Chris said, "Trust me, though, I doubt it'll ever be anything too terribly bad." He smirked, before looking back at her, "We have a deal?" He asked.

Benezia thought to herself, _More information about Earth and McGraw surely is worth a small favor…_She considered things, and eventually came to the conclusion that whatever he would request couldn't be worse than the bet she lost during her maiden years. "We do." She said.

Chris smiled, "Sweet? So how do we do this?" He asked, putting his elbow on the table, and resting his chin on the back of his hand, "Because I don't care what, who says, you aren't touching my head."

Benezia paused, "Physical contact with the cranium is amongst the easiest -"

"Then you're going to have to settle for second best." Chris firmly stated, "My head is my most valuable tool. Some may say it should be my hands..." He raised his cybernetic hand, "But I beg to differ." He said, "So what's the best replacement?" He asked.

Benezia considered this for a moment, she looked around the room, they'd caught a few glances, and many eyes, but most of them were only quick peeks at the Human and the Matriarch, not many were paying attention, and those that were would be having difficulty, given the fact that they were speaking rather quietly. "Give me your... Living hand?" She asked, placing her own on the table, face-up.

Chris looked at Benezia for a moment, before he consented, and placed his right hand on hers, palm-down. She took his hand and exhaled slowly, "Alright, mister McGraw, clear your mind... Think only of your memories of your Earth -"

"How can I clear my mind, but think of Earth at the same time?" Asked a grinning Human.

While most wouldn't have picked up on it, McGraw noticed the subtle tilt of Benezia's head told her that he'd _finally_ succeeded in annoying her, he repressed a grin as she gave her response, "Think of _only_ your homeworld, and the sound of my voice." She instructed, "Close your eyes." She requested, Chris chuckled once, and did so. "Christopher McGraw, Human of the Systems Alliance... Embrace Eternity." She said, before the meld was initiated.

* * *

At first, for the briefest of moments, there was nothing. For a second, Benezia wondered if something had gone wrong, or if the Human was incompatible with a meld - which was, however increasingly rare, within the realm of possibility. Her worries were washed away however, when a bright blue light pierced the jet black void that had clouded her vision. She made her way to it, but suddenly found herself surrounded by a silver, thick, but also pale fog, which severely hindered her movement. She found that her movement restrictions were much akin to trying to wade against a raging river; the more she thought of it, the more she realized that the fog was _buzzing._ Was McGraw playing a joke on her?

_Mister McGraw..._ She said through the meld, _Would you please cease that noise?_

Save for the buzzing, there was silence. Nothing, not a response, not even a symbol of recognition came through the meld on the Human's end. She shook her head, assuming that either the Human had done something wrong, or there was something unique to Human minds, that made them harder to meld with.

_Or..._ She thought, _Perhaps the connection hasn't been completely established, yet?_ She kept moving towards the ball of light, which was getting ever so closer with every step, _Perhaps this orb is the gateway into a Human Mind? But what makes Human minds so unique?_ She asked herself.

_Interesting..._ Suddenly wisped its way into Benezia's mind, through the meld, Benezia froze, _Synthetic... e's alive! ..._ She heard, it was McGraw's voice, speaking in a language she realized, she didn't understand.

The whispers brought forth images of a holographic Human woman, and suddenly she heard a noise. She looked around, and to her left, suddenly, the fog cleared, and there was a sterile white table in its absence. Adorning it were dozens of misplaced, mismatched objects, Benezia waded over to the table.

_Mister McGraw?_ She called, Benezia could feel McGraw's conscience shallowly brushing against hers, but still there was still no answer, and there was no 'physical' presence of him for her to interact with.

Still receiving no answer upon arrival, she looked at the items adorning the table. She saw a small, circular disk - the words 'Gladys' Home sprang to mind suddenly, and just like that, she realized where she was. She wasn't still 'in transit', between her mind and his, she was actually _in_ his mind! This was the Human's 'Mental Room', which was _nothing_ like she'd ever seen before. Her last Mate's had been more akin to a bar, her Father's had been much like a library, and her late friends was more like an office, but she'd never _ever_ seen such a foggy, buzzing room like this Human's. She shook her head of these thoughts, and continued looking at the objects.

There was a small jar, which she recognized - and the seemingly random thoughts that sprang to her mind confirmed it - as the jar containing the antiproton, that the Human had showed her and Zhin earlier that day.

_... Did it!... oton, without the need... ear power plant!_ Slithered into her mind, in the same, lightly, and oddly musical, but similarly barbaric language. The voice, while definitely being reminiscent of McGraw's, was much more light, and wispy, as if he were injured, or were whispering to her.

She looked at another object, the slithering thoughts told her that it was an arm, and for whatever reason, it seemed to elicit warm feelings from her. Curious, she picked the skeleton up, and suddenly she was thrust into the memories the object contained.

* * *

_WHOA!_ Shouted McGraw, as the spinning world suddenly came to a jarring halt.

His brain felt fuzzy, as if it were being pressed upon by some kind of pillow. Oddly, the feeling was only there when he thought of it, and if ever he focused on something else, it went away.

_Er... Benezia? The hell's going on?_ He asked, before jumping, and bringing his hand to his lips, he'd _heard_ those words, but he hadn't even moved his lips! _The fuck?_ He thought, not hearing his thoughts. _I can hear what I think-say... But not what I think-think... The hell is this, a cheesy 21st century sci-fi flick?_ He asked himself, shaking his head.

He looked up and found himself to be in a room, _alone._ The room was rather quaint, but very cluttered. It reminded him of a child's play room, all around him there were objects on the ground, bookshelves lined with books, along the walls, and posters next to them. There wasn't any window, or any light fixture, but the room was at the perfect level of brightness. The walls were light blue, but the carpet - from what he could see of it - was purple.

There was also another thing McGraw noticed, _Jesus _Christ!_ This place is fucking huge!_ He shouted, after seeing how vast the room was. _Where am I?_ He asked himself, before he raised his 'voice', _I read into this, lady, I know you can hear me! So stop fucking around in my brain, and tell me what's going on!_ He called.

He received no response after several moments.

_Alright, fuck you too... Let's see what kind of juicy secrets I can get out of the quiet one._ He said, looking around.

On the ground, a few feet from his foot, he saw a toy that seemed quite akin to a rattle, but was still alien in appearance. He moved to it and reached for it, the moment he did so, his senses were assaulted by hundreds of voices, all speaking at the same time.

_Oh, she's so cute!_ He heard out, _She must really like it, lady Benezia!_ Was another.

_Oh god damn it..._ He thought, _I can't understand a god damn thing!_ He shouted.

He pulled his hand away, and the thoughts faded out.

_Well... Despite the lack of understanding... It_ is _Freaky_... He thought, shaking his head, and deciding not to go for that one.

He looked around the room for a few more minutes, before finally deciding upon a book - an old one, from the looks of it - that he found on the ground, several feet from the nearest bookshelf. Interested, the Human reached down to pick it up, and was once again assaulted by dozens of voices at once.

_... ady Benezia, we found..._ He could partially make out, in the light-toned, slightly musical tone, _She seems to be..._ It faded out as he reached away.

_Okay... I just reach forward, read it as fast as I can, and block out the noise the same way I block _that_ out._ He thought, mentally preparing himself.

He took in three quick breaths, and then reached forward and yanked the book off the ground, before his world was plunged into darkness.

* * *

_"Mommy, mommy, come on! Hurry!"_ Shouted the light, obviously young voice of a Human, as Benezia's senses cleared.

She opened her eyes, and they were assaulted with the bright yellow rays of the Earth's sun, the scattered thoughts from the Meld told her that its name was 'Sol'. The sun's rays felt warm on her skin, much warmer than they would be on Thessia, with its stronger-than-average Magnetic Field. She inhaled through her nose, the air smelled odd. It wasn't sweet, like Thessia's, but it wasn't cold, like Sur'Kesh's, nor was it steely, like Palaven's. If she had to put a word to it, she realized, the best she could come up with would be that the air smelled _warm,_ but something, far in the back of her mind, nagged her that it wasn't like that before, like it had been a different smell, long ago, but now had 'settled' upon this warm, seemingly friendly smell.

_"Slow down, Chris, we'll get there soon."_ Said a low, womanly voice.

Benezia paused the memory, everything froze, she knew that she would get _nowhere_ if she didn't understand the Human language, so she looked into the mind of the Human she'd melded with, slowly realizing that the deeper she had to look, the harder it came. She eventually excavated everything she could that referred to his language, and its definitions, which had came in the form of a book, which promptly melted into her hands, carrying its knowledge into her mind.

_Interpreting someone's alien language is normally energy consuming, but with McGraw even more so… Why?_ She asked herself, before she thought of the language itself, _English..._ _It sounds... __Poetic and yet... Barbaric at the same time..._ She smiled, as the memory resumed.

Benezia heard a happy giggle, and looked to her left, she saw a row of buildings, which must not have been in the field of view of Chris' memories, as they were all blurry, and out of focus; before the buildings was a road, much of it was in focus, but rapidly fading, the Phantom McGraw must have been turning away from it. It was black, made so from what the meld identified as 'tar', and vehicles - with _wheels_, she realized - rolled along the road. The cars made loud noises as their engines revved and their wheels rolled; despite the annoyance, it was rather soothing, in Benezia's opinion.

"Oh come _on..._ Mommy!" Whined the younger voice, to Benezia's right.

She looked to her right, the first thing to greet her eyes was a duo of Humans, one tall, and obviously older, and one short, very obviously younger. She saw the small Human, which the Meld identified as Christopher himself, with his hand - his left hand, which was organic, at this point in his life - clenched tightly by a taller Human, his mother, Benezia assumed. The Mother - who was 'in focus', looked so strikingly similar to an Asari, Benezia had to look at her again to assure herself that she was, in fact, looking at the Human scientist's memories but the human fur, or 'hair' as the Humans called it, instead of the Asari crest, identified her as a human female.

_"I want to see the clown!"_ Whined the young Chris.

Suddenly, unbidden, the elder McGraw's words echoed through the meld, sounding _much_ more ominious than they had before; _It's _Hell_ to those who cannot tame it, and _Paradise_ to those who can._ She heard.

"We'll see the clown, Chris." Said his mother, "Just let me drop this off, okay?" She asked, with a warm smile.

"Aw!" Shouted Chris, "Do I have to go inside?" He asked, looking at the building behind him, when it came into focus, Benezia saw that it was adorned in what she recognized as large letters, which read 'Inter-planetary Postal Service'.

"Well... I have to send my report to your father, sweetie." She said, crouching down to get eye level with the boy, "I'll tell you what though, if you be a good boy and sit on _that_ bench, right there -" She indicated a vacant bench, on the front of the Postal building, right in front of a window, "And wait for me while I'm sending this to daddy, I'll take you to the clown, and I'll buy you a nice, big... _Green_ balloon!" She said, with an elated tone, that instantly caught the attention of the child, "How does that sound?" She smiled.

Suddenly, Benezia's eyes were dictated to take in the features of the woman. She had dark red hair that fell down just past her shoulders. Her eyes were light green, and her skin a tanned white. She was wearing a dark blue T-Shirt, and a pair of expensive-looking jeans. On the third finger of her right hand there was a faded ring of lighter skin, and below that, on her wrist, was a watch, upon which Benezia could see several things happening at once, and at once she assumed it must be the Human version of an Omni-tool.

Chris, a young boy with scraggly, unkempt, short hair, bright blue eyes, and a wide smile, nodded happily. "I want a _big_ balloon!" He declared, proudly.

"Alright then." Laughed his mother, as she led him to the bench, "Stay _right here,_ okay?" She asked, as she lifted him onto the bench, whereupon he started swinging his legs happily, "I'll be right back. Remember what you do if someone tries to talk to you?" She asked.

"Never talk to strangers." Said the boy, "And if he tries to keep talking, call for you." He recited.

"Good job!" Said the gleeful woman, as she tussled his hair, "I'll be right back." She smiled, as she entered the office.

For several minutes, Benezia and Chris sat on the bench. The Human blissfully unaware of the Asari sitting next to him, and the Asari wondering what caused these specific memories to be materialized in the form of a skeletal arm.

And just like that, she began hearing the boy's thoughts.

_Mommy's taking a long time..._ Thought Chris, _I'm bored._ He realized, quickly.

Across the street, next to another row of buildings, a man came into focus, he wheeled forward a large apparatus, which had several colored, rubber objects hanging off of it, in varying sizes and colors. As well, several large tanks, with the same number of tubes, were attached to it.

Through the meld, Benezia heard Chris' words again, _Hell, to those who cannot tame it. _

_A balloon guy!_ The young Chris gleefully thought, as he got to his feet, _Maybe if I wait next to him, Mom will get out faster!_ He smiled, widely, and began walking towards the other end of the street.

_**Hell.** _Benezia heard once again, before her hearing membranes were filled with a deep, blaring noise to her left. She looked there, quickly, and saw an _enormous_ vehicle, its wheels screeching as it tried to halt itself, quickly hurtling towards the boy.

For Benezia, it was instantly apparent that the vehicle wouldn't stop in time, and McGraw's mother learned the same thing as well, just as she came running out of the Postal Office, screaming the frozen-in-place boy's name.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, the mother got to the street and dived for the child, the child screamed in fear, and the tires screeched even louder, as the child was brought into his mother's arms. The truck slammed into the mother's back, and the two were slammed into the ground, but the vehicle kept going. Its tires went 'thump' as they ran over the mother's legs, and the child's arm. It took the vehicle another several seconds to completely halt, but by then the mother's legs and back were bleeding heavily, and visibly broken, and the child's arm was _flat,_ with blood pooling all around it.

Benezia heard screams of fear and sorrow all around her, Humans ran towards the injured couple. The most tried to help the screaming boy, but many also tried to pull the mother from under the car. Sirens could be heard in the distance, but they grew faint as Benezia was torn from the memory, the one thing going through her mind, was how _true_ McGraw's words were; Earth was _beautiful_ when it was tamed, but the second it raged out of the control of her children, the Humans, it was _horrible._

* * *

"Oh god _damn it,_ with the spinning and stopping again." Groaned Christopher McGraw, after he picked himself up from a cold, hard floor. "I swear, if I can avoid it, I'm _never_ melding with an Asari again. Fuck it." He said, as he looked around himself.

What he saw was an _enormous _living room, at least twice as big as his apartment. There was a large, alien TV on the wall in front of him, and a moderately sized fireplace underneath it. Both of which were out of focus, McGraw compared it to a camera focusing on something in the foreground, with the background going all fuzzy, blurry, and out of focus. For a moment, he thought he was back in Jack's Uncle's house, but when he heard a familiar voice behind him, he knew he wasn't.

_"Lady Benezia?"_ Asked a low, womanly voice, in a calm tone of reverence.

"Oh _shit..._ I can't understand her!" McGraw groaned.

_"Yes?"_ Responded the shakily toned voice of Benezia T'Soni, who, after he turned around and got a good look at her face, showed obvious signs of stress and what looked like tears staining her bright yellow dress.

"The fuck are you doing in that_ yellow_ dress, lady?" Chris wondered aloud, "Please God tell me she doesn't wear that all the time... I'd feel so sorry for her, if she did." He chuckled, before the memory suddenly halted.

"What?" Said McGraw, before something literally plopped into his arms, he looked at it, it held what was obviously lettering, in an alien language. "The hell is this? Why - Oh god!" Chris interrupted himself, frantically shaking his arms as the book melted into each of them. A few moments after the book disappeared completely, the memory resumed.

"I have good news, madam... We found her!" An Asari said, with a smile.

"Holy shit, I can understand you!" McGraw shouted, gleefully.

"You have?" Benezia got to her feet almost instantly, her stress almost literally flowing off of her face, as the news sunk in.

The Asari nodded, her hands were folded in front of her, "The park you told us to search? Shiala and the commandoes found her there." She said, with a smile.

"Was she alone?" Benezia asked, as she beckoned the Asari to lead her out of the house.

McGraw found himself dragged along them, still seated on the shifting ground, his legs crossed; "Yes ma'am, she told the handmaiden who discovered her that she'd left of her own volition, that she hadn't been taken, as we'd previously assumed." The Asari said.

Benezia was obviously confused, and as they exited the mansion, she asked "Why in the Goddess' name would she do such a thing?"

The other Asari chuckled lightly, "You... May want to ask her that yourself." She said, as the Matriarch entered a sky-car - which, McGraw noted, looked like it had been ripped straight out of a pre-space flight Sci-Fi movie.

The 'scene' seemed to melt around McGraw, and for a few moments he was sitting in a bare, white void, before the whiteness melted as well. After a few moments, he found himself seated upon the ground, with the sun shining right in his face.

"Ah! Damn it!" Shouted McGraw, as he shielded his eyes from the sun, while scrambling to his feet.

He noted, as he did so, that he couldn't _feel_ this sun, though attributed that to the fact that he was only experiencing memories, and might not actually be _there,_ to feel it. That theory was tossed out, though, when he smelled the air, which had an oddly sweet odor to it. McGraw blinked his eyes a few times, and found himself in a park, surrounded by _bright_ red trees, in front of him, still melting into position, were multiple Asari, a group with ancient looking armor, which he assumed were the commandoes and one other with a similar armor but to the left of Benezia. In front of Benezia stood a shorter, younger looking and with dirty clothing Asari, who held a shovel in her hand. Benezia, the shorter Asari, and everything behind the Asari were all that came into focus for the Human.

_How does that work? _Chris asked himself, "Is it - oh." He thought aloud, "She can't see it, it doesn't get focused upon." He nodded.

When the rest of the environment finally melted into place, Benezia began speaking, in what McGraw almost immediately recognized as a scolding tone.

"You were doing _what?!"_ She demanded, of the smaller Asari.

"I was digging for ruins, mother!" Shouted the small one, in a characteristically childish, high-pitched voice, which was filled with pride.

"I'd thought you'd been _taken,_ Liara!" Benezia said, her angry tone betraying the relief Chris could feel through the meld.

"I would never be _taken,_ mother!" Said the smaller Asari, 'Liara', Chris assumed her name was, You have seen what I can do during Shiala's lessons!" She said, proudly.

It was at this moment that Chris realized that the smaller Asari wasn't actually _that_ small, if anything, she had to be just a foot or two smaller than him, two smaller than her mother. That gave her the height, and appearance of a teenage Human, but she still acted like Chris would have, before his seventh birthday.

_I guess Asari age differently..._ Thought Chris, _The hell does this have to do with a book on the ground?_ He wondered.

Benezia sighed, and crossed her arms, "Liara, I am proud of your accomplishments... But you still have a _long_ way to go before your biotics are refined enough!"

_What the fuck? How old is she?_ Chris looked from the elder Asari to the younger, _Even with modern medical tech, you start to show _some_ signs of age, when you hit forty five... She looks no older than thirteen!_ He thought.

"But I'm _twenty five..._ Mother! I'm almost, practically a Maiden!" She pointed out.

_I wonder..._ "Is that anything like a teenager?" He said aloud, garnering no response, or recognition from the two, not that he'd really expected anything, given the fact that he'd been screaming profanities the last eight minutes.

"But you _are not,_ Child." Said the Matriarch, "And infantiles cannot leave their homes without supervision!" She added.

"Oh come _on... Mother!"_ Whined Liara, "Why can I not leave our home yet? Why can you not take me to the Citadel, or Illium?" She asked, "I want to see somewhere else! I want to explore, to read more about the Protheans, or the ones that came before them!" She smiled.

Benezia gave her a thoughtful glare, before she shook her head, "If I cannot trust you to stay in the house by yourself, I will most certainly _not_ trust you on Illium, child." She said, and with that, the memory began melting away, leaving Chris in the same blank void he'd been left in during the first 'transition'.

"So where the fuck does the - Oh." Said Chris, as the next transition played out, and he was greeted with the forms of Benezia and Liara melting into position, the former holding an outstretched hand, the book Chris had picked up melting into its grasp, and Liara's _clearly_ surprised form melting into place in front of her mother.

"Oh!" Squealed Liara, after she snatched the book from her mother's hand, "You didn't!" She giggled gleefully, as she began rifling through the pages.

"I did." Nodded the smiling Benezia, "You do remember the discussion we had a week ago, after we came home from the park?" Liara distractedly nodded, as she continued flipping through the books, almost as if she was trying to make sure it was real. "Well..." Continued Benezia, "I looked into the subject, and had that delivered... I thought you'd like it." She smiled.

"Oh mother, I love it!" Liara gleefully shouted, after leaping into her mother's arms, giggling happily, as she did so.

Neither of the phantoms of the past noticed the almost imperceptible scowl on McGraw's face, as they and the memories melted away, slowly transitioning to leave McGraw in the cluttered room he'd found himself in before the memories had begun.

* * *

Benezia found herself, once again, in the buzzy, foggy room, lit only by the bright ball of blue-white light. The memory she'd just seen fresh in her mine, she laid down the skeleton of McGraw's once organic arm, and found herself considering many things.

First on her mind was the subtle beauty of his homeworld, which, despite the horror of the memory, was apparent for the Asari. Secondly was the memory itself, anyone else that she knew, would have been horribly scarred - beyond the physical - by such a memory, but McGraw wasn't, he seemed to be no worse for wear. She understood that it had been decades since then, but he still showed no signs of psychological trauma from such an event, perhaps his father had helped him through it?

She looked at the table once again, considering looking at another of his memories. She saw many things on this table, some that drew her eyes being the dull, silver disk, and another being a jar, that seemed to be containing the very fog that was surrounding her, and filling her auditory membranes with that _cursed buzzing._ A third item was quite simple, it looked like a piece of paper, filled with words, that were _hand written_ by McGraw himself, though she couldn't read them. A fourth item caught her attention, it looked like a dull metal disk.

Curious, Benezia reached for the disk, but when she grabbed it, she only gained brief flashes of memories.

_"Alright... Come on, come on..."_ Muttered McGraw, she saw the memory from his eyes, which were staring at a computer screen. _"No... No, no, no, no, no! Don't lose power... Not now!"_ He begged, as his fingers tap-tap-tapped away at the screen.

The scene faded away, and then was replaced with a jet black room.

_"FUCK!"_ Shouted McGraw, as he threw things all around his room, _"I just needed TWO MORE, GOD DAMN MINUTES!"_ He looked at his computer screen, and in a blind fit of rage - which Benezia felt through the meld - punched a hole straight through it, with his organic hand, which was shredded, and quickly began bleeding.

Another transition, the same dark room greeted Benezia, but so did silence - save for the buzzing.

_"What?"_ Said McGraw, his voice quiet, quivering, as if it didn't believe what Benezia didn't hear. _"Jack, I swear to god, if that was you, I'll break your god damned legs!"_ He shouted, kicking the door to his room open, only to find an empty hallway - which was much more lit than McGraw's solitary, pitch-black room, lit only by the Earth's only moon. _"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?!"_ He screamed.

_"Hello?"_ Asked a voice, a synthetic voice, from behind McGraw, who whipped around, to see a holographic female Human depiction, floating above a dull metal disk.

It lit up the entire room, with its beige-orange holographic form. Its hair was short, and its 'clothes' were simple: A pair of jeans, a long sleeved hoody, and a pair of non-descript shoes. McGraw stumbled forward, Benezia felt _raw_ disbelief through the meld.

_"You..."_ McGraw fell to his knees, staring at the hologram with wide eyes.

_"What is my name?"_ The AI asked, its tone shifting volume every few words, _"Is there something wrong with my vocal processors?"_ She added.

McGraw stared at the AI for a few moments, blankly, before he laughed, _long_ and _loudly._

_"I FUCKING DID IT!"_ He shouted, triumphantly, _"Synthetic god damn life... Without a single Super Computer! SHE'S ALIIIIIIIVE!"_ He shouted, with a big smile on his face, _"She's alive!" _He repeated, gleefully.

_"I am alive?"_ The AI asked, looking at her holographic hand, _"I do not even know my name..."_ She muttered.

_"You're name!"_ McGraw shouted, smacking himself in the head. _"Yes, your name! How do you like, 'Gladys'?"_ He asked, with a smile on his face, as he picked up the AI Disk gently.

The AI stopped examining herself to look at McGraw, _"Gladys?"_ She repeated, before she looked at her hand again, _"I... Like it..."_ She said, before looking at McGraw with concern, _"But what is your name? Are you my father?"_ She asked.

Chris chuckled and shook his head, as he sat down on his bed, _"I'm no one's dad..."_ He said, _"My name's Chris... Christopher McGraw."_

Gladys looked at McGraw for a few moments, _"Should I call you 'Mister McGraw', then?"_ She asked.

Chris smiled, Benezia felt a tear come to her eye, but when she went to brush it away, realized that it was _McGraw's_ eyes that were leaking, not her's!

_"You can call me whatever you want..."_ Said a smiling Human, _"You can call me whatever you want..."_ He repeated, softly, before the memory faded away.

Benezia put the disk down on the table, she felt touched by the memory, but she didn't understand what had pushed McGraw to tears. It was an _AI,_ it wasn't as if he'd just had a child, so why did he care so much about it?

She looked once again at the table, deciding she had time enough for just one more memory, and still unable to directly interact with McGraw, she decided that the page with words would be less 'damaging' than the arm she'd picked up, and less personal than the one about 'Gladys', and she reached for the page.

* * *

Christopher McGraw saw, once again, the spinning, and jarring stop of the world around him.

_What the fuck is it with the spinning?_ He demanded, trying to keep himself from blowing chunks. _Ugh..._ He said, shaking his head, _So what else is there in here?_ He asked himself, examining the room he'd been dumped in once again.

He spent several minutes exploring the room, and eventually settled on an obelisk-like object. It was glowing green, with glowing symbols wrapping all around it. Curious, McGraw reached for it, and almost immediately realized that _this_ was something important, because he only heard a single voice penetrating his mind.

..._ Must know._ Said the voice, _... Would do damage far worse... chni could do._ It said, fading in and out, despite its clarity.

_Ooh..._ Said Chris, _Well... Next time, don't lock me out of my own mind._ He said, yanking the statue/obelisk off of its stand, and being spun into a new memory.

* * *

The first thing Benezia heard was laughter, the next, the clinking of glasses.

_"To motherfucking graduations!"_ She heard the voice of Christopher McGraw call out, before he brought a bottle to his lips and began drinking heavily.

A chuckling voice then added, "To the best of friends." Before he too drank straight from the bottle, this one though had a different liquid in it, than Chris'.

Chris surfaced from his bottle first, and wiped off a frothy, brown liquid from his mouth. "So, 98.6 on Calculus, what about you mister 'Advanced Algebra'?" Asked Chris.

Chris' friend smiled, and lowered his bottle, "Ninety on the dot." He said, proudly.

"Well we're going to have to go back to Layton and stick that grade up his ass, _I_ tutored you you ungrateful _dick,_ you should've gotten a ninety five, _minimum."_ Chuckled Chris, as he smacked his friend on the back a few times.

Benezia looked around herself, wondering what a piece of paper would symbolize here. She saw wooden walls, booths lining them, and pictures and all sorts of random objects hanging from, or attached to them. She heard strange music playing in the background, and saw dozens of other Humans, either drinking or eating, all around the 'Bar', the Meld told her the place was called.

Chris' friend laughed, "Well, we don't all have unmentioned mental augmentations, my friend." He said, taking another swig from his drink.

"Yeah, that definitely helped... But you want to know what _I_ think? _I_ think someone was getting a little too... _frisky,_ with that pre-med student... What was her name? Eva? Eva... Eva Core?" Chuckled Chris, the chuckles turning into full on laughter when his friend sputtered half of his remaining drink down his front.

"Er... Well..." Said his friend, before he was silenced when he realized Chris was laughing.

"You dumbass! What'd you do, enjoy your new beer-card and get laid, the night before the _final exams?"_ Asked Chris, through fits of laughter.

"Well, I can assume you were working on Project 'Orange', while I was out with Eva?" Asked Chris' friend.

"It's 'Orange _Box'..._ Actually, and yes, I was!" Said Chris, "I swear man, she's almost there... I got her to ask me a question yesterday!" He said, gleefully.

"What'd she ask?"

"... Boxers or briefs?" Said McGraw, before they both erupted into uproarious laughter.

"Oh god... You're kidding?" Said his friend, as he tried and failed to stop laughing.

"Oh no, I wish I was Jack." Chris laughed, "It only would've been better if she'd asked: 'How's jack doing? Looked at any good _mech magazines lately!?'..."_ Said McGraw, laughing even louder near the end of his question, his friend's laugher quieted down, but was still there. "So, tell it to me straight, how bad did you _fuck up_ Warp Physics?" He asked, taking another swig of his drink.

"Hey, I got a ninety point _one!"_ Said Jack, "What did you get, a hundred and eight?" He demanded, putting on a fake 'stern' tone.

"Hell no..." Said Chris, before he looked at the wall to their right, and then back to Jack, "I got a hundred and _nine, bitch!"_ He shouted, jabbing his cybernetic finger in Jack's chest.

"Oh, well I guess you won't be interested in my political science grade..." Muttered Jack, "Perfect one hundred, by the way." He said, with a grin.

"Oh that's _low,_ Jackie." Said Chris, "You know I got an eighty nine and a half, there." He said, chuckling.

"Oh no, half a point from an A, what will McGraw do?" Asked Jack, taunting his friend.

"I'll burn down your _frigging house!"_ Chris shouted, his tone conveying clearly that he was kidding.

Jack laughed, and after the two ordered another round of drinks - Benezia noting that Chris refrained from ordering a 'Beer', preferring some sort of 'Soft Drink', instead - he spoke, "So what'd you submit for your extra credit in Human History?" He inquired.

"Which one, 'Explain, in no less than six paragraphs, what will happen should the Alliance make first contact with a hostile alien race', or 'In your own words, explain the climate of the Earth Nations during the time of first-warp'...?" Asked Chris.

"The Former."

"Oh hell, you expect me to remember the _whole thing?"_ Asked Chris, "I've already drank an entire Root Beer!" He said.

Jack nodded.

"... Well fine asshole, you're _lucky_ I fuckin' remember!" Said Chris, after another swig of his drink. "So, without boring you with the needless details, about the separate branches of the armed forces and special forces, I went into detail about how the alien race - most likely those 'Protheans' that we found _barely_ any tech from, on Mars - would no doubt have to be a galaxy spanning empire at this point, with technology that _far_ surpasses our own." He explained, "Travel technology that would make my dad's warp engine look like a steam engine, in comparison. Weapons technology that makes the Orbital Defense Platforms look like _toothpicks... _And ships so friggin' big they'd make the _Piked Shield_ look like a pebble." He continued, "I went into detail about how Eden would be the first to fall, due to the Contingency being declared. That, despite our best efforts, there would be no possible way we could defend against a hostile alien race, with our level of technology and our _two_ colonies... I went into detail about how Earth would be dragged into a long-lasting war, and how despite combinations of nuclear, bio-chemical, and satellite based attacks, eventually the aliens would render our race either _incapable of fighting,_ or outright extinct. I then went into details of _why_ the aliens would do such a thing, everything is possible, from religious reasons to more obscure ones, like the aliens realizing - due to their previous observations of our culture - how militant we are, and how easily prone to violence we can be, and how _effective_ we are at battle." He explained, "I continued to say that, given a century of tech advances and maybe a hundred more colonies, we may be able to fight a Galactic Empire on equal footing... But even then, it's a stretch." He said, "Finally, I explained the after effects of a loss of such a war, I explained how that, given we were spared extinction, the Alliance Credit would be worth less than pre-chewed bubble gum, how the Earth's infrastructure would be destroyed, and how we would either be confined to the Sol System until the aliens saw otherwise, or until we killed ourselves out, fighting over what was left." He finished.

"Damn..." Said Jack, with a nod, "What did you get?" He asked.

Chris smiled, "I got the _only_ perfect grade in the class."

And with that, the scene began to fade away, the silver fog penetrating it like it had done the previous memory.

* * *

Christopher McGraw sighed, feeling his stomach churn, as the spinning world came to a sudden and jarring stop. Immediately after the world melted into detail, he realized that something was wrong with this memory. It looked like _everything_ was out of focus, blurred out, like a cell-shaded cartoon. Benezia and her Asari Companion were both lacking the finer features and details, such as the colors of their eyes or the fabric of their dresses, and the environment around him seemed far too void of details.

"Well... I've obviously stumbled onto something she doesn't want seen..." Chris thought aloud, before he silenced himself so he could hear Benezia and her companion.

"What I am about to show you, Benezia, cannot leave the Regius council... It cannot even be retold, to no one who does not need to know." Said her companion. "You will have to be trained with memory protection techniques, so to use them for what you will soon learn."

"I understand, Matriarch Alsir." Said Benezia, as she and her companion walked through the cavernous room, Chris assumed that he was either in some sort of airport waiting section, or a church, because there were rows and rows of chairs, all along the floor.

Ahead of him was an enormous obelisk, which, like everything around him, was without feature. Its silver-gray appearance mixing into itself, turning it into a milky, sickly gray color.

"What are you -" Asked Benezia, before her companion reached down and pressed a button on a pedestal at the base of the statue, she spoke, but her words were garbled into incomprehensible speech, only seeing to furtherly pique Chris' interest.

A moment passed, and the obelisk - after it opened up from the middle - was _literally _replaced with an cube of darkness, no light went in or out of the jet black void. Chris knew that it was something else, but whatever it was, Benezia didn't want him to see it.

The phantom Benezia however, did see it, and was shocked, as evidenced by the journey her hands took to cover her open mouth, "Goddess!" She declared.

"Yes... Actually... It is." Said her companion, "I assume you _know_... To whom this belonged?" She asked.

"Of course, I know." Said Benezia, still flabbergasted at the sight, hidden from the Human's eyes, "You remember to whom you are speaking?"

"You understand then, _why_ we cannot reveal this." Said her companion.

"Of course..." Said Benezia, as the scene started to melt, "This could do far... re damage than... chni could do!" She declared, her voice fading in and out as the memory melted away.

"Ooh! Big secret!" Said Chris, before everything went dark.

* * *

Benezia found herself in the foggy room, and she placed down the paper, which she recognized was the very same essay she'd heard McGraw describing.

_Fascinatingly wrong..._ She thought, with a grin, before she realized how much time she'd spent remembering the Human's memories. _I've waited far too long... If something went wrong with the meld, he could have been waiting for hours..._ She thought, as she decided to break the meld, and send her and the Human out back into reality.

* * *

Chris opened his eyes, and was greeted by the same diner he'd decided to eat in, on a whim, just an hour ago.

"Er... How much time passed?" Chris asked, as he went to rub his suddenly aching temples, he felt a headache building up.

"Just a few moments..." Said Benezia, as she rubbed the fingers of her right hand together, as if testing their texture, "Does Earth truly smell like that?" She asked.

"Like what? I couldn't see what you were looking at." Said Chris, as he looked around, no one seemed to be staring at them. The diner was still a buzz of activity, it was still full of customers, still lit with the pale white light, and their - supposedly - few second mind reading session had gone unnoticed.

"So... Warm..." Said Benezia, as McGraw's watch's - which looked almost exactly like the one from his memories - alarm went off.

"Oh, warm? Yeah, it's smelled that way ever since we deployed the TD's after world war 3." He said, clicking the watch twice. "Well, I'm off." He said, gathering his bag, and standing up, "The Alliance is making ready to depart, and I've got to head out, lest I be left here." He explained, extending his hand, "It was nice talking to you, Matriarch Benezia." He said, after the Asari took his hand.

"And it was... Revealing... Talking to you, mister McGraw." She responded, with a nod and a smile, "I hope you stay safe, on your travels." She said.

"I hope I do too..." Said a grinning Chris, before he left the diner.

Chris - rather quickly - walked through the Citadel, drawing the eyes of many an alien as he did so, but still taking enough time to take in the sights. The _massive_ station seemed to be lit by the ambient light of the nebula that surrounded it, which was almost all blue/white, meaning the station itself had a blue/white tinge to it. The floor was made of some white, tiled steel, and the air - despite his preconceptions - didn't _smell_ fake, rather, it smelled overly cleaned, which made sense, he supposed. Around him were dozens of large buildings, many shops, and of course, hundreds of aliens. The numbers of aliens increased more as he made his way to the docks. The dock with the Human Destroyer attached to it were _crowded_ with alien reporters, who were unable to get any kind of response from the three Alliance Marines, who were standing guard outside the door leading to the airlock to the ship.

"Hey! Buddy!" Called McGraw, as he waved his hand in the air, and weaved through the aliens, "Help a guy out, here?" He chuckled, before his hand was grabbed, and he was yanked through the aliens, and into the airlock tube. "Phew... Thanks, pal." Said Chris, as he stretched his back in the sterile white tube. "We heading out, soon?" He asked, as the decontamination process kicked in.

"Yes sir, just as soon as Whyte finishes his address." Said one of the marines.

"Address? What, winning the war isn't big enough of a speech?" Chris asked.

"No sir, apparently not." Said a marine, "Word on the grape vine is that he's quitting, so the civilians will get off Parliament's back about the Bluff he pulled above Palaven."

"Really? Wow, people are dumb, right?" Chuckled Chris.

"Ignorantly so." Said the Marine, after the airlock doors opened.

* * *

Jason Whyte sighed, deeply. This would be the _last_ time he addressed the Human, and now, Quarian, race, as the Alliance Director for Affairs. He and his colleagues had decided that a public resignation would be best, it would show humility on his end, and that the Alliance itself _wasn't_ afraid of showing its mistakes, or owning up to them.

The curtains were rolled back, and he was greeted with dozens of news cameras, his teleprompters, and the reporters, broadcasting his words to the entire Systems Alliance. Behind him were two his two cloaked SIGMA guards, and behind _them_ was an enlarged flag of the Systems Alliance.

"My fellow Humans." He said, before he mentally slapped himself as hard as he could, he wasn't _only_ addressing Humans, now, "And Quarians." He added, quickly but awkwardly, "Today, I make my final address to you as the Alliance Director for Affairs." He said, "As you know... This month, we were assaulted by an alien race, with hostile intentions... In the resultant war, millions were lost, and trillions in damages were done." He continued, "We had to fight brutal battles on our Earth, but we prevailed, and brought the war to the Turian's home. After providing them with a brutal counter strike, and forcing them to end the war on our terms, we spoke with the Citadel Council, and bartered for the Human Systems Alliance's sovereignty, apart from the Council and the Terminus Systems." He explained, "However... Not all of my decisions were the most popular... Or entirely morally acceptable." He stated, boldly, "I understand, and accept this... That is why my colleagues and I, in the Alliance Parliament, have decided to make changes... Starting first and foremostly, with the decision to repair the damage we caused upon Palaven." He said, "We briefly spoke with the Council about this, and they decided that it would be acceptable to do so, though they made sure to note that we didn't have to do so." He explained, "As I speak, Alliance Engineers and mechanized forces are on transit - through the Citadel's Tuning Gate networks - to Palaven, to assist in any way possible with reparations... But that is not all we are doing." He said, pausing as he waited for the few scattered cheers from his last statement to die down.

"That is not all we are doing..." He repeated, looking across the rows of reporters, and out the window at the back of the room, which gave a perfect view of the void outside, "My colleagues and I have decided that changes must be made in the Alliance _itself..._ To avoid situations like this in the future. Details will be released at a later date, but the power of decision is going to be placed _most heavily_ in the hands of the people." He said, "As well as the equalization of power amongst the directors... And the removal of all Tuning Gates currently in Human space. "He explained, before he paused.

"My people... We have learned this month that we are _not_ alone... What's more, we've learned that we've gotten _allies,_ due to our actions." He said, "The Quarian race came to us desperate, and in need of basic _survival,_ and when we sheltered them, we had to fight for our independence, and their existence." He continued, "When we did so, we showed such levels of brotherhood, that I have never before seen in our Alliance... I ask you to remember this sense of brotherhood, from here forward. We must learn to accept, appreciate, and help one another if we are to continue to exist as a society... As two species united... Changes will have to be made, and compromises accepted... But we _can_ do it... It was within our grasp during the war, and it is even _closer_ now, that we are finished and recovering." He said, "Thank you." He finished, with a nod, before exiting the stage, to the applause of the reporters, and the hastily shouted questions of others.

"Congratulations, Jason." Said Jonathan Serios, after a handshake, and as the two walked through Arcturus to Whyte's _old_ office, so he could gather his things, "You're a civilian now."

Whyte chuckled, "It feels... Freeing." He said, with a smile, "Tell me, Jon... What's the average house go for on Eden?"

* * *

Suri Alian walked to the landing zone for all foreign and residential craft, which was filled with dozens of carrier ships and supply shuttles. He saw an Asari woman speaking with a Salarian, behind them, several other Salarians and Turians were working the Salarian-designed bio-suits out of the shuttles, and hauling them into a clearer area, so the soon-to-be Salarian Workers could get into them.

"Sir Alian?" Asked the Asari, "Matriarch Sanaan." She said, nodding.

"General Suri Alian." Said Suri, greeting the Asari with a customary gesture, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The Republic, and the Union have decided to act upon lessons learned from... Well... Another teacher." Said the Asari, gesturing to the shuttles and barges around her, "We're here to help, however you need it." She said.

Suri nodded, gratefully, "We need the Salarians in bio-suits, and their mechs, clearing rubble and looking for dead and-or survivors. The latter is our priority, because they've been without food for weeks now, and will _not_ last much longer." He explained, "Your biotics can help immensely with our workers, so set yours to work on easing the burden on the lifters." He added.

"I'll send out orders right away." Said Sanaan, her dark purple skin steadfastly absorbing the sunlight that shone upon it, "What else?" She asked.

"The buildings and rubble zones we've cleared out are already having foundations re-laid, and repairs being done. Anyone who isn't working on rubble clearing, search and rescue, is to work on repairs." He stated, "Understood?"

The Asari fired off an Asari salute, which they both knew was more symbolic than anything else, "Yes sir." She said.

_"General... You are not going to believe this!"_ Shouted a Turian, Suri recognized him as a First Strike Ground Trooper.

"What is it?" Suri demanded, shifting into 'Military Mode' as he speed-walked over to the FSGT.

"The Navy is detecting... Human ships entering Palaven Space, sir." Said the FSGT, causing Suri's blood to run cold.

"Are we under attack?" He asked, "By Human separatists?" He said, in a tone that hinted at pleas, he truly hoped this was a rogue faction, because if the Humans were sanctioning another attack on Palaven, the results would be catastrophic.

"No sir... We're only detecting one _Human_ Warship with them... The rest are... Unidentifiable... But they're surrounded by Council Warships..." The FSGT paused, "Are you thinking what I am, sir?"

Suri shook his head, "Only one way to decide... Hail them." He said.

"Yes sir..."

* * *

Fleet Admiral Jon Grissom wasn't feeling like too much of an Admiral, given the fact that his ship - the SSV _Phalanx -_ was heading a flotilla of a hundred civilian transport ships, all carrying volunteers, powered workman's' suits, and dextro supplies for the Turians, to assist the rebuilding process. He also felt vulnerable, surrounded by more than a thousand Citadel ships, it might have been the fact that he was still phasing out of the 'War' mindset, but he didn't like being surrounded on all sides by ships of what was certainly no ally of the Human race.

He shook his head, and answered the AI that had said his name twice, "Yes?" He asked.

_"Sir, we're being hailed by a planetary-based communications system."_ The AI explained.

"On screen." Said Grissom, taking a deep breath, and holding it.

A moment passed, and a Turian appeared on the screen, he too, looked like he was trying to stay civil, _"To whom am I speaking?"_ He asked, in his deep, flanged voice.

"Admiral Jon Grissom, of the Human Systems Alliance." Grissom replied, "I have been sent on a goodwill mission by both our governments... We want to help." He said, simply.

"To undo the damage you yourselves caused?" The Turian asked, a hint of malice in his tone.

Grissom swallowed his pride and nodded, "Yes sir, exactly that." He said, boldly.

The Turian was silent for a few moments, before he conversed with his subordinates, "If what you say is true... I have one stipulation." He said.

"Name it." Said Grissom.

"Your ship... The warship... Once your supply and volunteer ships land, you are to leave Palaven Space... Posthaste." The Turian stated.

Grissom paused, he hadn't expected this. "I..." He stammered, before deciding that it would be best to play ball, "I can do that, sir." He affirmed.

The Turian looked visibly relieved, but did well hiding it, "Thank you, Admiral. I'll send you landing zone coordinates, have your ships land there... I'll make sure you are all unmolested when you do. Good day... And thank you." He said, before cutting communications.

"Admiral... Permission to speak freely?" Said a navigator.

"Granted.

"Did the silver slug just tell us to eff-off?" The navigator asked.

Grissom chuckled, "It's _Palaven_ that's silver... Presley... Everyone knows that the Turians are made of steel." He stated.

* * *

_A/N: _

One more chapter, folks!  
I'm dead serious, next one is the finale!

The Shepard's Gender poll has been closed, head over to my profile to see the results.  
There won't be a 'romance' poll, however, because I've got specific plans for that.


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N:_

_First off, I am so sorry for the delay between chapters!_  
_School, prior engagements, and just Real Life in general got in the way, but my Beta and I have worked out asses off this past month to get work done on the story's finale. _

_That's right folks, this is the **finale**! The last chapter in The First War. I hope you enjoy it, we've put a lot of work into it. _

_Also, check out the end of the chapter for a 'surprise', hopefully you'll all enjoy it!_

* * *

Chapter 20

* * *

_December 11__th__, 2201:_

Negotiations between the Human Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council complete. The Alliance is an officially recognized sovereign government. Many Council and associated member races do not see the Alliance surviving long on their own.

_December 13th, 2201:_

A joint Asari/Salarian flotilla enters Palaven void-space, carrying with them workers and volunteers. Later, a Human flotilla arrives, carrying much the same thing. The Human volunteers are met with much scrutiny, and the flagship - the SSV Phalanx - is ordered to leave, as a sign that they truly are there to help, the ship agrees, but stays within a three minute warp-vector, should the worse come to pass. Soon it is realized that the volunteers aren't Human soldiers, and do not share the Alliance Armed Force's motivations.  
Relations between the Turians and Humans are still shaky, but the Human Volunteers' work helped immensely to improve and repair them.

_December 15__th__, 2201:_

Councilor Sparatus is impeached and tried by the Hierarchy for war-crimes; a guilty verdict is found within days, his sentencing hearing resulted in immediate impeachment, dishonorable discharges from the Turian Military, and a life sentence in a military prison.  
An election is soon held to find his replacement.

_December 17__th__, 2201:_

A population of five hundred thousand Quarians flock to the Dextro-world given to the Alliance in exchange for a halved ship-production for five years. The planet is christened 'Keelahnan', a Quarian term for 'Home Away From Home'. Six thousand Human Naval vessels follow the live-ships that brought the Quarians, to act as a defense force.

_December 19__th__, 2201:_

Ship activity in the Batarian Hegemony increases dramatically. Civilian Human Ships, out scouting for planets to colonize, soon begin to go missing. Investigations are underway, but no proof as to the perpetrator or the location of the ships is found.

_December 19th, 2201:_

Scientists in the AATF begin work on nano-machines designed to circumvent the weak Quarian Immune System. Project: QIS612 is estimated to bear fruit in two years.

_December 21__st__, 2201:_

Rebuilding in New York City continues, and the construction of the 'Second Contact War' memorial is begun, at ground zero of the Turian Orbital Strike. Many buildings survived the orbital bombardment, but a majority fell. Rebuilding is estimated to be complete within five years, plus six months for clean-up.

_December 22__nd__, 2201:_

Planet 'Titan-6' is colonized under the Alliance. It is formally recognized as a training world for the Alliance Marines, Navy, Orbital Dropping Death Dealers, and N7 Special Forces. Ship production moves primarily to the mineral-rich world as the Alliance begins constructing the first Flagship purely from Tuning Metals.

_December 23__rd__, 2201:_

The entirety of the Quarian navy, save for the thirty one thousand, six hundred twelve live ships, flock to Alliance shipyards to be temporarily decommissioned, so they can be redesigned and upgraded around Alliance Tech. The Citadel Council feels cheated, but under the agreements made with the Humans, this is technically allowed, as the ships were a part of the Alliance navy, and therefore aren't new additions.

The Quarian Liveships are, after intense debate amongst the Quarian Conclave, decommissioned, the ships are stripped for resources - primarily their Element Zero cores, as the Alliance is in need of Eezo for study - and given 'proper burials', as the seventeen million Quarians remember their centuries-long exile, on the fifty thousand plus ships.

_December 25__th__, 2201:_

Christmas is spent in a somber celebration, as many remember the fallen from the war.

_January 2202:_

To mark the New Year, the Alliance returns the Relays leading to Roof; Eden and Earth are left as relay-less systems, and anyone wishing to settle or visit there are to travel on official alliance travel barges; transit from the Alliance 'Outer Colonies', to the 'Inner Colonies' very soon becomes a lucrative business. After two weeks Citadel aliens begin submitting requests to take Alliance Citizenship tests. A total forty two thousand applications are submitted, half pass the tests to become citizens, a fourth submit again to reapply. Roof and Eden become the first Alliance worlds with Citadel aliens on them. [Primarily Asari are found on Human worlds, but a sizable Salarian population exists as well.]

Settlement and Tourism in Alliance-Space quickly becomes a lucrative business, and does wonders to help set the Alliance up on the Economical stage.

.

As the Alliance sifts through the wreckages of the ships outside of Roof and Earth, small discrepancies are noticed in the numbers of ships destroyed and/or crippled, and the number of wreckages present. Not enough to cause alarm, but decent numbers of Human and Turian warships are missing, these missing ships are written up as victims of the lack of momentum loss in Space, or possibly have burned up in the Martian and Earthen atmospheres, and are soon written off as unrecoverable.

_March 2202:_

The Turian Navy begins reconstruction after Menan is once again declared a capital-class city. Dreadnoughts, Cruisers and Frigates are all forged as quickly as the Turians can, without sacrificing efficiency. The Turian Navy is expected to be at full strength by 2221, based upon previous ship-building speeds.

_June 12, 2202:_

John Shepard is born to Captain Hannah Shepard, the wife of the late Captain Jordan Shepard. Trace amounts of Element Zero are found in John's blood.

_August 2202:_

Keplar-9 is colonized under the Alliance, marking the first publicly colonized planet found outside of a Relay's influence. As well, this marks the second 'Earth Class' world found by Humans, Keplar-9 is a Forest-Class world that is almost entirely dominated by forests in the upper hemisphere, and combinations of forests and swamps in the lower hemisphere. Joint Human-Quarian colonization begins quickly after discovery and claim.

_April 2203:_

Eden-Prime is colonized under the Alliance, through the Relays, marking the first planet colonized under the 'eye' of the Council, and the first planet colonized by the Alliance as a direct result of Relay transit. Eden-Prime is an Earth-class world, much like Eden and Earth, it contains a diverse bio-sphere, but nowhere near as unique as Earth's, nor as 'tame' as Eden's; it is known by the pioneering colonists as 'Earth's evil stepchild', due to its sometimes hospitable, and sometimes hostile biosphere and wildlife. A sizable Human population from Earth is migrated to Eden-Prime as construction begins.

_August 2203:_

In 'response' to Human Flagships, the Citadel begins a joint Asari-Turian-Salarian project to replace the current flagship for the Citadel Defense Fleet. Project 'Destiny' is projected to bear fruit within the decade.  
The Turians as well, begin a project to match the Human Flagships, quickly known as 'Project CCS'.

_December 2203:_

After successfully establishing 'Cerberus' as a pro-Human Black Ops organization, with a veritable think-tank of sixty one Humans and six AI's of varying degrees of importance in Human Society, Jack Harper - using the immense funds he is still in the process of acquiring - begins the creation of the Cerberus main base of operation, appropriately dubbed 'Cronos Station'.

_January 2204:_

Eden's 'Wet-Navy' is finally fielded, a total of three hundred ships are helmed across Eden's eight oceans, helmed and maintained not by the Alliance, but the Eden Defense Force, a planetary militia formed in the wake of the First Contact War.

_April 2205:_

Citadel Census reports one hundred twenty thousand Humans populating the Wards. Alliance Census reports twenty thousand total Citadel Aliens in Alliance territory. Very few on Earth, most on Roof and a small portion on Eden.

_July 2205: _

The Human Systems Alliance forms the Alliance Army, as a response to the problems faced during the Second Contact War.  
The Army's primary goal is ground-based 'Stationary Defense', whereas the Marines are a naval-based 'mobile force'.  
Recruits quickly begin circulating.

_November 2205:_

A terrorist attack on the Citadel releases a biological agent on the Zakera ward. The agent is found to suppress all biotic ability, in any member of any species it comes into contact with, for a period of ten days. No known organizations claim responsibility for the attack, however hostilities and riots against the Human population are sparked as blame is thrown. The riots are quickly and systematically quelled by Citadel Security, of which, Humans have begun to insert themselves into.

_November 2206:_

After being lifted from their production decrease, the Alliance begins constructing more ships, to more evenly defend its steadily increasing number of colonies, and begins researching AI-Driven and AI-Manned ships to resolve the slowly increasing problem of manpower.

_November 2206:_

Construction of the 'SSV Ark', the second Alliance super-carrier, begins. Estimates put a completion date within three years, possibly longer, as this is the single largest ship to have been created by the Alliance, and the first to be jointly designed by Human and Quarian engineers.

_July 2207:_

All Alliance Dreadnoughts and Flagships are equipped with Anti-matter Particle Beams. Three fourths of Alliance ships - including the repaired and upgraded Quarian ships - are equipped with Energy Shielding. All lost Orbital Defense Platforms's above Earth have been repaired or replaced.

_October 2207:_

Alliance Relay-Colonies become targets by mercenary groups and organizations for unknown motives or reasons. After the sixth brutal retaliation, in which the mercenary organization in question was reduced to fewer than ten members, the attacks slow down considerably.

_December 2207:_

Human and Quarian ships are reported missing, the ships and crew are unrecovered. Alliance Intelligence begins investigating the disappearances, but finds little evidence as to who attacked, or perhaps captured, the ships.

The ships and crews are soon declared dead in the water, and deceased respectively.

_January 2208:_

The Alliance's first true exposure to Prothean Technology comes as they are mining a moon of one of the Gas Giants in Keplar-9's system. Council scientists are allowed to study it in tandem with the Alliance. Both Christopher and Jason McGraw are reported to be sifting through the data, though the former publically proclaims his confusion as to the current status of the Protheans, and where they could be.

_February 2208:_

Divisions from The Human Systems Alliance Advancement Task Force begin to study the Protheans in-depth. Studies into their culture, society, history, and more importantly, their technology and language, are put into procedure, but due to the general lack of leftovers from the extinct civilization, as well as the general lack of outside knowledge from the Council species - aside from limited data sent by private enthusiasts - progress on all fronts is slow.

_January 2209:_

Recruitment for the Ultra-Top-Secret Alliance Military Project, 'SIGMA-II', the successor to the SIGMA-I Program, begins after Christopher McGraw successfully argues for its insemination. Orphanages and Orphans from the First Contact War are the prime target for recruits.

_February 2209:_

Human Children on Eden are beginning to show Biotic potential. The Alliance begins the construction of Biotic Testing schools, and soon thereafter, decides to forge York Academy, to be the home for the Alliance's best students and scholars and/or Biotics, be they Human, Quarian, or other. John Shepard is among the children to show Biotic Potential.

_August 2209:_

Work is finished on the QIS612 prototype, the test subjects are found to be completely healthy without their masks. Immune system strength is comparable to Human Immune systems. QIS612 quickly enters mass production as the Quarian Race scrambles to finally be free of their suits. It is estimated that all currently-living Quarians will have the QIS612 by 2218.

_November 2209:_

Cronos Station reaches completion, and quickly begins operational status as the main base of operations for Cerberus.

* * *

Jack harper smiled, a rare feat, in current times, but it was a warm, wide smile. In front of him, outside of the protected station and outside of his practical black pit of an office, was an enormous, dying blue and red star. It was beautiful, in a way, to watch as the 'cool' blue flames danced and fought with the 'warm' red flames of the star, and Harper had at times found himself enraptured by the beauty of a star in its final death throes.

He stood now, just a few inches from the enormous, several inch thick, bullet proof and bomb-resistant window, which gave him his view outside into the void. In the eight years since its inception, Cerberus had gone from a small pipe dream funded by an ex-soldier and a questionably sane engineer, to a veritable melting pot of the Human race's best minds and bodies. Billionaires such as Donovan Hock and Henry Lawson had lent their _not_ inconsiderable fortunes to the creation of this very station, and geniuses such as Christopher McGraw, Henry Lawson, and Stephen Lars had lent their genius to the systems and Artificial Intelligences that helped keep the station 'afloat', functional, and hidden from prying eyes, and politically connected individuals such as Jonathan Serios, Edward Spokane, and Sara Langley kept the station, and the faction, a secret from those who didn't know. Currently, Cerberus only had about one hundred members, McGraw and Harper not included, but those members and operatives were all almost constantly dedicated to finding new, bright, and intelligent minds to recruit, as well as lethal mercenaries and soldiers to buy and 'reeducate'; one had at one point mentioned recruiting out of the SIGMA program, but Harper himself had shot that idea down, via a scrambled audio communication albeit, but still personally. SIGMAs were Alliance first, and Cerberus was a supra-Alliance organization. The Alliance was a good idea, but it needed a shadow organization to figure out the dirtier details and perform the more interesting tasks, and therefor SIGMAs were out of the question, as they were now.

A hologram faded into the air next to him, and displayed a blackened shadow of an individual, with an audio wave-line beneath it.

_"Sir?"_ Said a scrambled voice on the other end of the call.

Harper sat and sighed, back to business. "Yes?" He asked, as other holograms, of news reports, status updates, recruitment options, and other such informational documents faded in around him, waiting to be interacted with him.

_"Mister McGraw just reported in, apparently he went Down Under to visit Mister Lawson."_ Said the voice.

Harper waited for a moment, "And?" He prodded, after a few moments of silence. Whenever Harper was called, he didn't like silence, _period._ Silence meant something or someone wasn't working, which meant time, money, and perhaps even Human Lives were being spent in this period of inactivity.

_"He said for me to report to you, Lawson's daughter... Miranda? McGraw said we should watch her."_

"_Chris?_ Did he elaborate as to why?" Asked a perplexed Cerberus leader, he knew the relationship his friend had with the Lawsons, the fact that he'd visited Mr. Lawson purposefully was intriguing enough, but to recommend they observe the child as well? Lawson had made 'Miranda' in much the same way that Jason McGraw had changed Christopher, and Chris had made it clear he detested his father for what he did, so why would he show interest in the younger Lawson, if the older Lawson had in essence, done the same? "Are you certain it was him?" Harper didn't like liars, almost as much as he didn't like inactivity during a status report, liars meant that there was something to hide, and in the newborn state Cerberus was in now, secrets were something that couldn't be afforded, they came later, when Harper's proposed Cells came into play.

Noticing that his leader was waiting for the rest, the agent continued, _"He explained himself, saying how Miranda... And I quote, 'Reminded me of me at that age... But a lot less smart.'..."_

"Did he say anything else?" Harper knew that one or the both of them were missing something, or Chris had plans and his elusive nature had bade him not to bring his friend in on them.

_"He mentioned he didn't like Australian heat, and that he wanted to go to Eden to check in on the status of the 'S-2' program... He didn't mention anything about the Lawsons at all, and left soon after."_

Harper nodded, "Alright... Keep me informed, and if there is nothing else, I have other business to attend to." He said, before he cut the call, and opened a file he'd been meaning to read for some time now, the file's header was dubbed '_Project: VANGUARD'._

* * *

"Thank you, once I talk to him I'll let you know." Kindly said Doctor Alice Mossman, as she left 'Fontaine's home for the orphaned.'

Mossman quickly sighed when she stepped into her car. She'd been assured there were some possible candidates in Fontaine's Home, but she'd found none. The Alliance was practically breathing down her neck with the need for recruits for their newest super soldier program, the 'SIGMA II's '… She honestly found the entire process horrid, and the reasoning for the program even more so. The casualty counts for the SIGMA Forces in the First Contact War were over one half of all operatives, that was about seventy five hundred men and women who'd perished in the battles. After getting these reports, the Alliance declared the SIGMA I 'Class' to be a good starting point, but not good enough. They said that the SIGMA Soldiers were supposed to be indestructible, that they were supposed to be able to topple entire countries with just a squad of twenty soldiers, and yet they'd lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers as a result of the Turians. The Alliance did admit the SIGMA I's were the best soldiers they'd ever had - that _Humanity_ had ever had - but they needed something better. Or, to be more specific, that self-absorbed kid _Christopher McGraw_ said they needed something better.

Mossman shook her head, she didn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with McGraw as of late, she'd met him in person, she wasn't impressed. Sure, he made the Antimatter Particle Beam, which is most likely _the_ reason the Alliance had destroyed the mercenary organizations in such a short amount of time, and suffered so few ship-losses, but he was just so _childish!_ If she remembered correctly, he had to be in his late twenties, or early thirties, at this point, and yet he still acted like an immature teenager, whenever he left Alliance Territory to do interviews on science talk shows - which wasn't as rare as she wished - he made an outright fool of himself on galactic television. Sure, he outsmarted entire teams of Salarian scientists, and Asari societal experts, but he did so while cursing up a storm and while defacing the image of the Human race, with each word. Yes, she admitted, he _was_ smart, but she just couldn't understand why he was simply so _immature!_ And worse than that, he was downright immoral! He had been the one to come up with the idea for the II's, he'd been the one who'd all but told the Alliance that they'd have to break the children _repeatedly,_ in body and mind, if they wanted to make something 'better than the best', and worse than _that,_ the Alliance believed him!

He'd said that, to accomplish this, to make a 'breed' of Super Soldiers stronger than the strongest, and tougher than the toughest, he looked into Human history. _Far_ into Human history, he looked at every era of warfare: Prehistoric, Steel, Industrial, World War Era, and Modern Warfare. They saw that the toughest trained were - six times out of ten - the ones that were most efficient, but most soldiers were averagely aged from twenty eight to thirty six, this gave the soldiers themselves to develop 'deadened' combat instincts, which meant that, in essence, they were too old. Even the SIGMA I's were in their thirties, and though they'd had seven years of the most horrid, brutal training in Human history, they'd still lost a fourth of their numbers. However, when the Alliance Chris looked into the earlier periods of history, he noticed something interesting.

Many pre-industrial age societies would raise children from a certain age to be nothing but soldiers, and as such would create brutally efficient soldiers and killers, nearly unbeatable. The most notable example of this would be the Spartans, of ancient Greece. They trained their young for one thing and one thing only: War, and as such they became so efficient and deadly, that their enemies had to form a coalition of nations to defeat them, and even then it was a pyrrhic victory, because the Spartans had taken out so many enemies that their armies were nearly destroyed when the fighting ended. McGraw wondered why they couldn't do the same, with modern training and technology?

It had taken McGraw many months to convince Alliance Parliament that _this_ is what the SIGMA Program needed to become the unbeatable soldiers they were supposed to be, but eventually - and unfortunately - he got them to agree, and thus, dozens of recruiters were sent out across all Alliance planets - Earth included - to find orphans that would be best suited for the program. Aspects such as physical development, age, and intelligence were all looked at in potential recruits, though Age was a sort of wild card, as anyone from age 6 to 10 could potentially be recruited.

Mossman herself had been amongst the first 'wave' of recruiters, but unlike her friends, she hadn't found a single child that fit her screening process. _Not one_. Her several hundred allies and subordinates had found a total of six thousand, one hundred nineteen recruits, but she'd yet to find _one_. She wasn't _too_ terribly sad about that, though, if she kept this up in two more orphanages, she might be able to wash her hands of this nonsense and proudly say she had nothing to do with the recruitment process.

She frowned despite herself, as she started up her car. She knew she'd find someone, this was _Eden_, and aside from Earth it was kid-central for the Alliance, and had been the central training point for the Alliance Armed Forces, until Titan-6 had been colonized, that is. So there _had_ to be any number of children she could find, somewhere.

Mossman looked ahead of her and saw that Eden's sun was beginning to set, the sun was younger than Sol but just a few thousand degrees hotter. One unique aspect of Eden was that each night the sun's rays would - without fail - interact with the atmosphere, and give the planet a unique aurora borealis effect, that could be seen most anywhere on the planet, save for the North Pole and somewhere on Quaria. Right now the very edges of the borealis could be seen as the tip of the sun touched the horizon.

Mossman shifted the vehicle into gear and smiled again when the engine hummed to life, the electric-based engine barely disturbing her or the vehicle as it activated. She quite enjoyed the technological marvel that was the Wireless Energy Grid, which had been completed in the mid to late 21st century after mounting concerns and crises over fossil fuel usage and consumption. She didn't know too terribly much about the science behind wireless energy, but she knew that the antimatter reactors that were responsible for creating such untold amounts of energy were the primary reason as to why mankind had little need for fossil fuels anymore. It was true that fossil fuels were still in use, but it was mostly for such small-scale objects, devices and such, that they were on nowhere near the scale of the 20th and 21st century usage levels.

She shifted out of park and began moving for the edge of the subdivision, Mossman had driven about a mile before something caught her eye. She was passing a playground, and it looked like something had happened, because she saw _bodies_ on the ground and some small Human child huddled over another's body.

"What the _hell_?!" Thought Mossman aloud, as she slammed on the breaks and scrambled to shut the car off and get over to the scene.

She left the car and sprinted over to the Human, who Mossman noticed was crying now that she could hear her. Mossman got a quick look at her immediate area, there were at least four other Humans on the ground, of varying size, not including the one the Human girl was crying over. The one the girl was crying over looked bruised and bloodies, as if he'd fought these other Humans, but Mossman dashed that thought, there was no way a child could take on four other Humans - who _had_ to be around teenage, given their size - alone!

"What happened here?" Asked the concerned doctor, after kneeling beside the girl.

"Please, ma'am, you have to help Johnny!" Sobbed the girl, before she looked up to Mossman.

"You have to tell me what happened here, what's your name?" Asked Mossman.

"My name's Ashley." Said the Human, she sounded and looked as if she was young, perhaps seven or eight, "Those guys came and saw Johnny doing magic, and they said something about God. I tried to stop them from hurting Johnny but they pushed me, and then he started fighting them!"

_Magic?_ Thought Mossman, she couldn't have stumbled across Biotic Human, could she? It wasn't _im_possible, as biotic kids weren't as rare as they were uncommon, especially in Tokyo. "You're telling me that Johnny fought all these kids on their own?" She asked Ashley, who nodded. "How did he do that?" She asked, she received a shrug in response.

"I don't know… He got real mad when they pushed me to the ground, and he started glowing blue and stuff, and they all started fighting." Ashley sniffled.

_He _is_ a biotic!_ Realized Mossman, as she looked at the boy below her. He had to be eight, or nine years old. _Within the recruitment age…_ "Okay, Ashley, you said your name was?" The girl nodded her head, "Okay, stay here, I'm going to go call an ambulance, okay?" She nodded her head again, and Mossman stood up to run back to her car and her phone.

* * *

It took the EMT's only ten minutes to arrive and transport all of the injured children. They were transported to the local hospital, where John was placed in intensive care. Humans didn't know as much about Biotics and organic Eezo-production as they would like, and the Asari, Salarians, and Turians weren't too forward with their information, given that, at the time (And even now), not many Humans had biotic abilities. Only a few thousand Eden children had shown biotic potential, and those taken to an Asari-taught school were able to do little more than lift a baseball and chuck it across a field. John Shepard [As his mother, Captain Hannah Shepard from the Alliance Navy told the Alliance agents his name was.] was a potential biotic, and thus was a relative unknown for the doctors and physicians in the hospital.

Alice Mossman was standing in the sterile-white hallway, projected next to her - via real-time holographic communications - was Jonathan Serios, the Alliance Director for Defense. The two were talking in hushed tones about John's potential recruitment into the SIGMA II program.

_"Mossman, what you fail to realize is that _that_ is the son of an enlisted Alliance officer. You remember the stipulations which were outlined for recruitment. We can only recruit out of orphanages, that child is not an orphan."_ Said Serios, _"You're telling me this child has the potential to be greater than even John Doe-S1-1. I will admit, his biotics could help in that factor, but John-S1 was a legendary SIGMA Soldier. He took out thousands of Turians during the First Contact war, and was a part of nearly every major offensive on Earth before he infiltrated the Citadel and took ex-Councilor Sparatus hostage."_ He continued, _"And during the Mercenary war, he single-handedly took down an entire space station of Heritan mercenaries... And only received a bullet in his shoulder, in form of injury! And even if this child had the potential to rival John-S1 in strength, he is still a child of legal parentage. The amount of paperwork and back-tracking needed to fake his death would be so great that it may not be worth the trouble."_

"Director Serios, you didn't see what I saw." Said Mossman, barely keeping her excitement - and sorrow, at _how_ excited she was about kidnapping this kid - in check, "The state of the teenagers John attacked was comparable to a physical assault from an Armed Serviceman!" She continued, "This seven year old child was able to take on four teenagers, and he showed a level of control over his abilities, he used them to bolster his strength and protect himself from harm! If we trained him with the SIGMAs and taught him to control those powers, we may have recruited the single strongest Human being in history! Possibly even the strongest being in the Galaxy!" She added, proudly, "Would not the safety and continued of the Human race be worth a few days worth of paperwork and fabricated news stories?" She asked.

Serios looked at Mossman for a few moments, his slightly aged, pale white face impassive. His light green eyes showed signs of intense internal conflict as he tried to reach a decision.

_"Mossman..."_ He sighed, _ "I'll trust you on this… But _you're_ handling his recruitment, the paper work that follows, and you'll be watching this child as he progresses."_ Said Trent.

Mossman nodded, "Thank you, sir, you will not regret this." She said.

_"I hope I don't."_ Said Serios, in response, before his hologram disappeared.

* * *

STG Intelligence Report: Species Evaluation;

Human Race [Mankind, Humanity, Humans, Homo-sapiens, etc.]

Threat Level: **Apocalyptic** _(Contingencies on the level and scale of Krogan re-emergences must be made as soon as possible.)_

Reporting Agent: Delian Solus

The Human Race is, to say the least, a contradictory species in and of itself.

To name the largest contradictory factor of this species, they claim to embrace and practice peace, yet their Military is among the fiercest in the Galaxy. [Rivaled in skill by the Turians, and in ferocity by the Krogan.] The Humans speak proudly of their capacity for peace, yet there is not one era of Human History that isn't marred in some way, by some war. [They even named the period falling between 1900 C.E. to 2070 C.E. the 'Era of War'.]. They speak of their endless capacity for peace, yet are not against going to war and killing for their ideals.

It is the opinion of this agent that this contradiction is, in and of itself, warranted. It is possible that the Humans do truly make their best effort to practice true peace, yet they wish no uncertainties that if pushed to war, they are the very best at it. Many aspects of Human society revolve around war in some way or another. Declaring 'war' on something has - astonishingly - become something of a joke in their culture. [Example: 'He declared war on that cat. Won't stop fighting the thing until it stops mewling.']

As well, Humans and Human technology seem to _thrive_ during wars; this belief is confirmed by simply looking at the Human-Turian war of 2201. When they [Humans] began the war, their ships had no shielding of any type, aside for armor, they had no energy weapons, and their supra-light speed engines were used for travel purposes. Then the war began, and in less than five days, they developed Anti-matter based directed-energy weapons, energy shields [As opposed to Kinetic Barriers], and found ways to weaponize their 'Warp Drives'. All this, in a matter of days.

The above is a prime example, as well, of Human ingenuity. The Humans are, simply put, necessity given form. Whereas the plethora of races from the Citadel Council all based their technology upon the ancient extinct Protheans, and test and re-test for as long as they can, the Humans had no Prothean artifacts with which to base their technology upon. [Ruins exist, but with little to no data.] This allowed them to develop technology on a completely different path than what we as a society have done.

For instance, with a general lack of Element Zero in their home-system, they were forced to find a conventional way of breaking the light-speed barrier. They did this by creating what they call a 'Warp Drive'. While the specifics and design specifications for the Warp Drive are not accessible to the Citadel Council [The Alliance has been adamant about keeping their technology theirs. The only non-Humans with access to design specifications are the Quarians, with whom they have allied themselves.], but the theory is that the engine tears a hole in space/time, and then creates another at it's destination. The ship using the drive then moves through the 'worm-hole' and comes out the other end, turning a trip that would take [For Example] three hours via conventional FTL, into a five minute cruise. [Scientists have tried cracking the secret to these engines, but nothing - neither small nor large scale - has worked so far.]

As another example, Humans have had to evolve their weapons technologies to adapt to space-battles. In response, they created the Rail Gun, which, in essence, is a primitive Mass Accelerator Cannon [However instead of 'Mass', the word would be 'Magnetic'.], the Rail Gun launches it's projectiles whole at speeds that are small fractions or percentages of Light Speed, which means our shields would be unable to detect them, due to the projectile's 'lesser' velocity and speed.

As well, the Humans seem, during times of peace and of 'mystery' (See my report on Human technology before and after the Human War.), to be much less testing, than they would during their 'golden ages'. To quote a few points from the report on Human Technology, Before and After the Human War, to look solely at the Human Military technology, the Humans felt safe with the boundaries of their travel, warrior, and naval technology before meeting the Quarians. But after seeing Kinetic Barriers, FTL Engines, and Eezo-enhanced armors, the Humans sprung into action, and within months began studying exactly how they could perform and create energy shielding, weaponized Warp Engines, and far more effective armor. Now that they've had time to sit and study their rapid advances, they've seen fit only to improve their already advanced technology, and seem to only be improving them as time goes on.

As well as the above, they also have remarkably advanced bio-mechanical technology. Their 'SIGMA Operatives' being prime examples of this. The SIGMAs are bio-mechanically augmented in so many ways that they are as Human as an AI inhabiting a Mech body is. They receive steel grafts on their bones to make them nigh-indestructible, specified and selectively-mixed drug cocktails to increase their strength, immune system, etc, and nano-technological augmentations in their brains to make them smarter, faster to react, faster to learn and to adapt, and quicker to think. The SIGMA's are their Super Soldiers, and are considered to be prime reasons as to why Turian invasions on Earth were contained so quickly, and why the Human incursions on Palaven were so effective; although it is still unknown why the SIGMA operatives became so thinly spread in the waning days of the Palaven Campaign. [Intel suggests that Humans plan on bringing the Quarians into the SIGMA Folds, but it is unknown how true these statements are.]

As well as unique technological and military advancements, the Humans are socially unique as well. Due to their vastly unique bio-diversity, on a level and scale never before seen, they have the potential to be the best and worst of any known species. Their diverse mindset and cultures allow them to be anything from a wise Matriarch-analogue, to an ill-informed Vorcha-analogue; as well as being anything from an ingeniously studious Salarian Scientist-analogue (An example being one 'Jason McGraw'), to a Krogan-level under-taught individual.

As mentioned before, there is even an enormous amount of Genetic Diversity shared with the Human Race. Some Humans have 'paper-white' skin, and some have extremely dark brown skin. Some have physical differences such as a differently shaped facial structure, and some have such small differences that it is nearly impossible to tell. (There are even Human technologies out there, designed to change the appearance of a Human's physical characteristics! He or She could, in essence, become someone else.)

Humans have an incredible penchant for testing the boundaries of what they can do, and for exploring new and vast territories. [Somehow, in early-Human History {Several hundred years ago} the Humans 'discovered' two entire continents they had absolutely no idea existed. This triggered the 'Great Expansion', as territories from 'Europe' and 'Asia' rushed to gain new 'colonies' in the 'New World'. Said 'world' would soon use War to become the 'United States of America', the same nation that was instrumental in bringing Mankind to the stars.] And the Humans are constantly doing so, in many ways. They are constantly pushing the physical and mental bodies in ways that astound even the most wise of Asari Matriarchs, the Smartest of Salarian Scientists, and the Strongest of Krogan Clan-Chiefs. They are endlessly using their warp-technology to explore the Galactic Frontier and colonize new worlds. [They had a relative fear of alien life when they first reached to the stars, but after the conclusion of the Human-Turian war, this fear all but vanished as the Humans realized that - despite the odds - they were the force to be trifled with, as opposed to the Aliens.]

The Humans are, without a doubt, one of the most unique species we have ever encountered, and given their war-like tendencies, this agent has offered them an Apocalyptic threat scale, and advises that plans for 'Human Neutralization' be drafted as soon as possible, as well as Project: Neanderthal be accelerated as fast as covertly possible.

* * *

_"John..."_ Whispered a soft voice, as the young man drifted in and out of a fuzzy state of consciousness.

_"I swear to god, if he doesn't wake up in the next five minutes, someone's getting robo-punched in his under-developed groin."_ Said a deeper, and admittedly harsher voice, though his idle threat did little to wake the child from his reverie.

_"McGraw! Be quiet! Your ship or not, he's a recruit and he's my responsibility! You won't talk to him like that!" _Said the female's voice.

_"He's in the military, bitch, he'll be saying a lot worse in a year... Four tops."_ Said the male, as the child began to rouse from the raised voices.

_"Why did they even call you in here, 'Sir'?!"_ The woman demanded.

A few chuckles resounded, _"Because my ship was the closest to your hospital, and I was literally a few seconds from taking off. They figured it'd be better, and quicker, to ship him here instead of tossing him on the AI ship."_ Said McGraw.

"Hello?" Said a confused kid, as his vision focused.

He found himself in a sterile white room, on a bed and under grey blankets. He felt a few bandages on his arm, his chest, and his head, but didn't feel like he was in pain. Hooked into his arm was an IV, that was no-doubt dripping some chemical cocktail into his system that kept him from feeling the pain from the fight he'd had earlier. In front of him, were two individuals, and a golden-orange holographic sphere hovering behind the dark-haired man.

"Oh, look, he's up." Said the man, "I'll be off, then." He said, patting the woman, rather forcefully, on the back, "I've got stuff to read, I'll meet him later when we touch down." He chuckled, "Welcome to Hell, son." He said, as he left the room, the boy couldn't help but notice the slight weight the man put on a black walking stick, which click-click-clicked along with his foot-falls on the metal floor of the star ship.

The child noticed the look of contempt on the dirty-blonde haired woman's face as she watched the man, McGraw, exit the room. Not able to contain his child-like curiosity and confusion, the child spoke again, "Where am I?"

The woman snapped out of her state of contempt, and her features softened as she turned to look at the child. She was young looking, though the child was no judge of age, he would guess that she was in her late twenties, somewhere around his mother's age, perhaps. She had dirty blonde hair and dark hazel eyes, and a rounded, youthful face that shrieked of femininity.

"You're on a transport ship, John." She supplied, "My name is Doctor Evelyn Mossman..." She greeted, though the pause at the end of her greeting made John suspect that she had something to add, but wished not to.

"Why am I on a starship?" John asked, "Did mommy get deployed again?" He wondered, "Why didn't I get left with Ashley and mister and missus Williams?"

Mossman bit her lip, she'd come up with a clever lie for the child, but now that she'd began speaking to him, the prospect of its success - or, to be more specific, her desire for it to succeed - seemed dimmer and dimmer.

"Your Mother... Isn't here..." Said the Doctor, resigning herself to one story over the other, and also to her and the child's fate.

The reaction was immediate, "What?" Asked John, his lip quivering and his voice shaking.

"On the way to Eden to check on you... Her ship... Was attacked." Said Mossman, "The reactor, it... It was hit hard, and the anti-fuels couldn't eject in time... The engines detonated before she could evacuate... She's gone... John."

Mossman had been prepared for many things, she had been prepared for the child to deny it, or to cry out in suffering, anguish and rage. She had been prepared for a sorrow unlike anything she'd ever seen, but she hadn't at all been prepared for John's complete, and utter _silence._ The silence tore at her heart and soul worse than any words or actions she'd said or committed this day had.

Finally, the child spoke, in such a hate-filled tone that Mossman recoiled in shock, "Who did it?" The enraged child asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Asked the bemused doctor.

"You said Mommy's ship was attacked... _Who?!"_ John demanded, with such a forcefulness that the Doctor was shocked it could come from such a young boy.

In future years, Mossman would regret how she thought of how easier it would be to recruit him, due to the child's quiet rage, but now, she thought little of it as she answered the child. "We don't know... They weren't Alliance, though." She said, subtly introducing to him the fact that his enemies would be non-Alliancemen. "She... Asked us something, though, before she passed." This caused the child's ears to perk up, "She wanted us to..." She chose her words carefully, "Ask... If you would carry on in her stead... She chose to give her life to defend the Human race... To serve, fight for, and protect Mankind... She wished for you to do the same."

With a shaking voice, the child asked, "Will I find who killed Mom, if I do?"

Mossman paused, looking into the child's deep, hate-filled dark blue eyes, completely unaware of just _what_ type of soldier, what type of _Man_ her next words would make, "In the defense of the Human Race... Most definitely."

* * *

_October 2209:_

John Shepard inducted into the SIGMA II Program, transported to Sparta within the week. [Redisgnated: John-S2-15]

_March 2210:_

Human Systems Alliance sets it's eyes on an ancient Earth constellation, 'Orion's Belt'. Recon ships are sent quickly after it is decided to colonize.

* * *

"Alliance Control, this is SSV 'Brutus', come in." Said Captain Hannah Shepard of the Alliance Destroyer, the SSV _Brutus_. Much of the crew was rather surprised she'd come down from her quarters, ever since the news had spread that her son had been taken from his sitters she rarely left her quarters for anything that wasn't food. Had they not already been in transit to begin surveying the next destination for Human colonization, the Alliance would have made her take a few weeks of leave, to mourn.

_"Got a little static here, Brutus, but we read you."_

"We're entering Orion system, just looking for confirmation of orders."

_"Orders haven't changed, Cap. You're just performing recon, setting up a few satellites, looking for Earth-class worlds, possible goldilocks-zone terraforming targets, colonization sites, etc..."_

"Understood, Ark out." Said Shepard, before she cut the connection.

"Captain, we're getting some strange readings from one of the planets in the Goldilocks zone…" Announced a crewman.

"This system's sun is supposed to be a lot bigger than Sol, it's probably messing with the planet's magnetic field and we're catching it." Said the ship's Executive Officer.

"No… I don't think that's it, the readings I'm getting aren't from the sun… Jeff, help me out here, what am I seeing?" Asked the scanner, of the ship's AI.

_"Scanning."_ Said the AI; for several moments, which seemed entirely too long for the ship and its crew, the AI silently did its duty, until suddenly it proclaimed ship-wide, _"Activating stealth systems and cutting communications."_

"Whoa, Jeff what are you doing?" Demanded Shepard of the Artificial Intelligence.

_"The planet in question is inhabited."_ Said the AI, _"From what I can learn without breaking into their satellite systems, they are about as advanced as Earth was around the year 2090."_ It supplied, formally.

"What makes you say that?" Shepard asked, feeling a slight flutter in her chest, as she wondered if _this_ first contact would eventually spark a war, as the last one had.

_"Because this system's Mars-analogue, the fourth planet from its star, is also inhabited, assumedly by the same species… And further proof, I am detecting a large ship currently in transit between the two planets."_

"Is it heading this way?" Asked a concerned Captain, mentally going over first-contact procedures and trying to decide if she could call for battle stations.

_"No. I believe it is similar in function to a colony-ship from Eden to Earth. They are traveling from one planet to the other, most likely to trade resources or people."_ The AI paused, _"I am not detecting any Element-Zero traces, or anti-matter engines in the system, besides our own, so it is safe to assume that these people are still using Nuclear and Fossil energy."_

"Alright… So… is this first contact?" Asked Shepard.

_"This is not, Captain."_ The AI said, _"These aliens have yet to contact us. I do not know if they saw or detected us during the period of time where our stealth systems weren't engaged, but I have yet to receive any hails on any frequencies." _It explained.

Shepard sighed, "Phew… We dodged a bullet, right?" She chuckled, "Hail the Alliance, tell them what we've got going on and get some updated orders."

_"Understood."_

* * *

_April 2210:_

Human Systems Alliance parliament chooses to watch over the recently discovered species. The species, through data taken from their satellites and translated with Human AI's, the 'Saltorians', is a class 3 developing species of sentient lizard-analogues, which inhabit two planets in their home system. A small contingent of ships - four frigates and one destroyer - orbit the system far outside the range of the Saltorian's sensors and satellites, but well within Human scanning range.

Alliance AI's begin to learn as much as they can about the Saltorians, and begin working up translators for the eventual inevitable first contact.

* * *

In a darkened room, aboard a top-secret, experimental ship, deep within the heart of the Batarian Hegemony's territory, four men waited in a conference room, each wearing the decals and clothes of a Batarian noble, be it in the military or the government. Each seemed to be waiting for someone, and angry that they were being kept waiting.

"If I may High Chancellor?" Began the Batarian Admiral of the Navy, the first and last authority when it came to the Hegemony's not inconsiderably sized naval forces; the most important person in the room turned to him, having an angry look and his eyes piercing through the man but none the less gave a quick harsh nod. "Thank you, High Chancellor. We have been waiting for almost an hour now with no agent in sight. Maybe we should …" He trailed off.

Silence, for several moments, as the Batarian High Chancellor stared at the Admiral, "You _dare?!"_ He finally shot back, "Whomever sent us the data, did so with heavily secured and classified Batarian encryption protocols!" He roared angrily, "_You_ know as well as I that those channels and protocols are only used by high-level black operatives and agents of the Hegemony. As such, we will wait for as _long_ as we must!"

And as such, several minutes passed. One of the three Batarians in a military uniform was a single moment from declaring this meeting a fool's errand and a trick, before the door opened and light poured into the low-lit room.

"Greetings and salutations, gentlemen." Said a voice, that carried not the deep baritones of a respectable and honorable Batarian being.

"A _Human?!" _Angrily demanded Seriul Hoorn, the Batarian High Chancellor, certain of the being's race despite the fact that only the man's profile could be seen, because of his backlit features. _"You_ are the one who called us all here, on such short notice?! _You_ are the one who knew of the _Vengeance?_ _You_ are the one -"

"That's quite enough, Sir Hoorn." Said the Human, his light toned voice quickly ending the Chancellor's rant. "Yes, I am the one who called you all here, I am the one who knows about your secret projects at merging Human and Batarian technology, which are failing considerably, by the way, I'm amazed you got this thing off the ground." He tapped his foot on the ground, still not moving from the lightened hallways so the four Batarians could see his features, "And, yes, I'm the one who knows about how miserably you are failing at satisfying your desired quotas for Human and Quarian slaves." He smiled, though none of the flabbergasted Batarians could have seen it.

_"How -"_

"I know many things, Sir General." Said the Human, "Unlike certain... Friends... Of mine, who had to create, sustain, and fund a black ops organization in order to get such a useful information network, I merely needed to insert myself in the right place, and all the chips came to my end of the table."

"_Enough_ with your games, Human! We only came here because of the means with which you sent us your message, and the subject matter _of_ the message! Now _speak_ or give me _one_ reason as to why I shouldn't have our Soldiers haul your primate-ass to a slave camp!" The Batarian High General ordered, as four Batarian soldiers came into view behind each of the nobles.

"How about a magic trick?" Smiled the Human; the General stared at the Human confusedly, before he turned his suddenly angry gaze to one of the soldiers; he nodded his head in the direction of the Human, and the four soldiers marched to their unfortunate target, who didn't move. "I'm going to make these guards... Disappear." He said, and a moment later the guards were grabbed by phantoms, unseen demons who seemed to materialize out of thin air as their tactical cloaks dissipated, revealing four seven and a half foot tall Human soldiers, who had each of the Batarian soldiers in sleeper holds.

_"Ta-daaaa!"_ Gleefully shouted the Human, as he entered the room and his soldiers disappeared again, "They're... Gone." He smiled, his features finally coming into view.

The man had pale white skin, and jet black hair. His dark green eyes contrasted heavily with his skin, which seemed only to be made more-the-paler by the dark gray Human formal suit he wore. His thin-lipped smile and confident look behind his eye gave him an air of complete confidence and utter faith, which unnerved everyone present, including the man's very own guards.

"Were those -" Asked the Admiral, with an amazed, but horrified expression plastered upon his face.

"Yes." The man smiled.

The Batarian Generals stared at the Human open-mouthedly, while the Chancellor just seemed even more furious than before "I _said_ no games! Identify yourself immediately and tell us what you want!"

"You need not know who I am." Simply said the Human, "And what I want is for me to know, and for the Universe to find out." He chuckled, "But rest assured, your goals and mine line up for now, so here I am." He sighed and cracked his knuckles and neck, as if disinterested in the entire chain of events. "Alright, let's get down to brass tax. Your raids on lone Human ships, while creative in getting Human slaves and limited Human tech, aren't getting you anywhere. This bucket of bolts... The 'Vengeance'? It'd probably be able to take on a battle group before it got overwhelmed... _Probably."_ The Human informed the four, "And your raids aren't getting you the slaves you need. As well, those colony raids, that you hired the mercenaries to undertake? They were doomed to fail from the _beginning."_ He stated, plainly, "Did you really expect lightly armed and poorly experienced mercs to be able to take on the very same faction that destroyed the Turian Hierarchy, and has the Council draining its economic reserves in secret, trying to counter our technology?" He openly wondered.

For several excruciating moments of silence, Hoorn collected his thoughts. He eventually rose his gaze and eyed the mysterious, and infuriating Human, "I must admit... I am intrigued... Continue, Mysterious One... Else, soldiers or not, I shall have you made useful in _other _ways."

The Human smiled, "Get comfortable, boys... This'll be a long one."

* * *

A/N:

_And that's all, folks._

_Mass Effect: The First War is now, officially, closed and completed._

_First of all, what a hell of a ride it's been._

_This went from a side project, a veritable 'What If' story, to my main focus on this account, and the third most followed Mass Effect Story on the site (As of 8 - 19 - 2013, anyways.), that fact, of which, I am more than proud of._

_I'd just like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to each and every one of the 1000+ people that followed and/or favorited the story as it was being written, and to everyone else who did the same after its completion. An even bigger thank you goes to those who stuck with the entire story, from start to finish, I know who you are, and you know who you are, and I appreciate it._

_The biggest of all thank-yous goes to the men and women who took time from their days to leave helpful, and/or constructive reviews for this story. I may not have time to respond to each and every review I'm given, but I do try, and if I can't, I do read all of them._

_You would all be_ amazed_ at how much pull the reviews of this story have with the course of its plot, because I can confidently tell you, things went a **lot** differently before I started getting decent, constructive, and lengthy reviews. Just ask my Beta, he and I have spent hours changing and revising the course of the plot, based upon the reviews of this story's chapters. Literally, entire chapters have been made, removed, or changed, because of a single review I've gotten. _

_And speaking of my Beta, **huge** shout outs to Michael1110, my Beta and my friend. He and I 'met' when he was just a reviewer/reader of the story, like many of you. Funnily enough, he lives on the other side of the Earth, and thus, coordinating time and working on chapters with him tends to be a bit of a hassle, but it is **well** worth it._

_Mike's got no damn problem telling me how it is, when it comes to an entire chapter, or just a section. His commentary, criticism, and skills as a Beta have been instrumental in the goings-on of the story itself, and I have to say it's been an honor to work with him. He's hilarious, smart, and the mother f*cker knows how to take and dish out a joke, which is a rare quality in most folks I meet. I'm more than glad to have met him, and even more happy to be able to work with him as I do, and I'll go as far as to say The First War might only have been half as good as it is, had he never picked it up._

_Another shout out goes to everyone who left me decent, lengthy reviews of the story as a whole, or the chapter they've read. I read each and every single review, but I absolutely love the long ones, as they tend to be more critical and more revealing than the shorter ones. I won't mention any names, but several of the 'long reviewers' have made such good points that their reviews actually changed the course of the story itself._

_So, thanks again, to the readers, the reviewers, and my Beta._

_So, moving on, past 'Thank You' avenue, and 'Shout Outs' road, we've come to 'Sequels' Boulevard._

_That's right folks, there's going to be a _Sequel.

_I'm already hard at work, working on a plot for Mass Effect: The [Next] War, with my Beta, and I've already got my own plans for The [Third], [Fourth], and Reaper Wars as well._

_I will say this right here, and right now, though. As canon-breaking as The First War was, the [Next] War and the following sequels will only serve to continue to further themselves from established canon. This is something that a Reviewer mentioned, actually, and that Michael and myself spent **hours** discussing, before we came to the point that making more 'OC' plots would be best for the series as a whole, as opposed to novelizing Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, with TFW Humanity. To do that, I feel now, would be a disservice to the fans I've garnered throughout the course of writing TFW, and probably even to the 'War-verse' itself._

_So, finally, I'd like to explain what TFW was, and what it is now._

_It started out, entirely, as a side project to my shameless Self-Insert story, which at the time, was my main focus, and at the beginning of the story, you can actually see me struggle with switching from 'Present First-Person' tense to 'Third Person, Omnipotent Past Tense'._

_However, as I wanted to make something unique, I decided to change things up. I took elements and ideas from my own, OC Sci-Fi stories and inserted them into The First War (Things like SIGMAs and OD3's, folks.), kind of like a 'testing grounds' to see how they'd fare against an actual audience. To say I was surprised at the positive reactions, would be an understatement… But to say I was disappointed when I heard of, and then learned about the similarities between my Humanity and Halo Humanity, which I do recognize, would also be an understatement, but that's besides the point._

_As more and more people began to enjoy The First War, I began to focus more and more into the plot, the characters, the action, and the McGraw. As I did this, more and more people began to follow and favorite this story, and the more and more I found myself loving writing it._

_This story, essentially, went from a side project to my main focus, and it shows. It is, as of today, the nineteenth of August, 2013, the **third** most followed Mass Effect story on Fanfiction-dot-net, and has at one point reached the status of **second**. And people noticed… _

_Not too long ago, Follower38, the author of Alternate Past and Uncertain Future, a Halo and Mass Effect crossover, and Mass Effect: inFAMOUS, a crossover of Mass Effect… And inFAMOUS… Both stories, by the way, I follow and greatly enjoy, and very much recommend. The latter of which, is among the few stories I read and loved before I started writing, and I'd go as far as to say that it was partly responsible for my drive and my desire to get into writing what I do!_

_Anyways, Follower_ _is a Fanfiction Author I actually follow and enjoy reading, and he actually came to **me** and asked if I could assist him with writing! _

ME!

_An author **I** followed, **I** respected, and **I** enjoyed, came and honored me by asking **ME** for help! The guy, bless him, even admitted to me he didn't expect me to have read_ his_ stuff, because I was 'Popular', and he didn't think he was 'skilled enough' to actually have caught my attention; and that right there is when **everything **was put into perspective for me. _

_I, in spite of it all, in spite of the fact that I'm writing a Fanfiction on the internet… Was popular. **Am** popular… I had authors **I** read and respected contacting me to assist in their stories, and calling me 'amazing' and 'popular'. I had reviewers say such nice, warm, inspiring things to me that tears actually started to well up. I've been called an 'amazing' writer, with 'limitless', 'untapped' talent, and folks have actually come up and asked me if I was published! (One guy, actually, wondered if I **was** an established author writing under a Pseudonym. I had a laugh with the guy and he showed me to one of the author's stories, which I have become obsessed with as of late.)_

_All that aside, I've accomplished something I never thought I would… I've succeeded in something I never thought I **could…** I_ wrote,_ and people loved it! _

_That right there is why I've come to love The First War so much. Not only is it a reviewer-described 'Roller Coaster' of a story, but it's also something that helped put me as a writer on the map. (Yeah, that Map has a header entitled 'Fanfiction'… But hey, it's a map I enjoy, and it's a map nonetheless!)_

_So, sappy self-stories aside, I can summarize **all** of this up by simply saying thank you._

_And so, without further ado, I'll see you all next time, for:_

_ Mass Effect: The [Next] War._

_Thank you; (Bows)_


End file.
